Exiled
by POTC Freak
Summary: Bellatrix chose to forsake the world in favor of the Dark Lord. Narcissa decided to abstain from non pureblood human contact when she married Lucius. And Andromeda, well, Andi was burned off the family tree.
1. Chapter 1

Hello all! First I would like to say that this story is a group story: Catherine (who doesn't have a fanfic account), Kinz (umm... Kinz), and I are all writing this story together. We weren't sure about the title of the story, so we were wondering if it caught your attention or anything, and if you thought it should be changed. If so, can we have your ideas please? Thank you!

Don't worry, the next chapter is MUCH longer than this one... this one is just kinda to get things going.

Please Read and Review! Enjoy! And don't worry - Chapter two and after get into more of a plot.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter, nor these characters, the school, etc.

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Chapter 1

'What a bunch of morons,' was Bellatrix's first impression of those surrounding her as she sat in one of the small boats that were gliding on the lake in front of Hogwarts. Honestly, it wasn't that grand of a castle – put anything in the middle of nowhere and then give no good scenery for a few hours, and anything would look inviting. The lake was just there to top the whole thing off.

In ten minutes all of the first years were finally inside of Hogwarts, waiting to discover how they would be sorted. Bellatrix wasn't worried – whatever came, she felt she would be able to handle. Not only that, but they were there to learn magic, and it was illegal for them to have used it before other than by accident. Only someone without a brain would have thought that the sorting would have something to do with their skill as a witch or wizard. Of course… she figured she might as well add fuel to the fire, and possibly see if there were any Ravenclaws she could fish out amongst the crowd.

"What?! We have to fight a giant squid?!" shrieked one student, followed by a chorus of, "They let us cross a lake that has a giant squid inside of it?!"

Bellatrix smirked to herself. Although the shrieking and yelling was annoying, the reaction it caused was definitely worth it.

"Alas, it seems as though Ravenclaw is going to be extremely short on students this year," Bellatrix mused to herself boredly glancing at her fingernails as she spotted only a handful of kids that were still relatively calm. As she said this, she eyed a group of boys coming over towards her with a facial expression much like her own.

"What's your name?" said a boy slightly shorter than her with dark hair. "I saw you start the rumors about the squid. So, I'm assuming that you already know the real way we get sorted, which means you're a pure blood."

"Bellatrix Black," she responded, already able to tell that he would be a fellow Slytherin with her.

"Over here, guys," called the boy. "It's a Black, who knew there'd be one in our year?" he explained to a few people that arrived to see what his friend wanted. "I'm Rudolphus Lestrange, and these here are Avery and Rosier."

"Well, you already know me. So, are you two -"

"First years, follow me," called a woman with square glasses. Bellatrix only glared at her, but stopped talking. After all, might as well start off on a good foot, right?

"Now, for the sorting of everyone into houses, you will all line up and put on the sorting hat," the woman now identified as Professor McGonagall explained. There were some sighs of relief and some disappointed grunts as the rumors about the squid were suddenly crushed. All the while, Bellatrix just stared at her fingernails dully.

"Black, Bellatrix," called McGonagall, startling her slightly but not enough to cause her to jump. She hadn't been paying attention, but it didn't matter – she already knew what house she would be placed in anyways. Smirking, she began to walk up to the stool, and the hat was placed over her head.

'Sheesh, can't they get a hat that fits everyone better? My head's not THAT small,' Bellatrix thought to herself. However, before McGonagall even released the hat, "SLYTHERIN!" was called out from the hat for all to hear. Her smirk only grew wider as she made her way to the table where she had known she would be located already. She sat down across from Avery and next to a boy that seemed slightly older than her and reminded her of someone.

"So, a notorious Black, eh?" said the boy beside her. "What gives me the honor of -"

"Oh, stop it already. I already know I'm a Black, and I'm sitting across from Avery since I know him a little."

As she finished her small rant, Rudolphus came up next to Bellatrix on her other side and sat down.

"She's got a slight temper, eh little brother?" asked the boy next to Bellatrix, making her realize why he had looked familiar. Seeing her look of understanding, the older one smirked and said, "The name's Rabastian."

"Bellatrix," she answered knowing that it was relatively pointless at this point anyways, but not knowing what else to say. The four of them began talking amongst themselves as the feast started and the sorting came to a close.

Bellatrix was pleased with the sorting and her newfound friends. Yes, her family would be proud indeed. She only hoped that one day she would be even more powerful, and show just how far she would go to defend their beliefs…

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Thank you for reading! Once again, please review and tell us how you liked it and what you thought about the title. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor the characters...

Yay! On to chapter two! Sorry this took a little long to post, but school came up, and nobody likes that...

And now, to thank-yous for reviewing!

x-Scarlet-x: Hahaha, I'm glad that you like her personality... I really like all of theirs in this story, actually. I'm having so much fun writing, this, hehehe. Hope you enjoy reading it too!

ponypop69: Glad that you like it! Umm... would you mind telling me what you meant at the end of your comment though? It totally went wooooosh and flew right over my head...

ENJOY! PLEASE REVIEW!

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Chapter 2

"When is the train coming Andi? I want to see Bella again!" whined the little blond girl tugging on her sister's sleeve. This was the fifth time that Andomeda had been asked this and she was getting rather sick of it. What was so great about Bellatrix anyways? She was bossy and mean and Andromeda sometimes thought of her as evil, though she would never admit that to anyone other then her cousin Sirius.

"Well?" Narcissa pressed for an answer, annoying Andromeda still further.

"I don't know, for the hundredth time!" shouted Andromeda, slightly exaggerating the number. "Now, will you please shut up?"

"Why, you didn't even answer my question," pouted Narcissa, folding her arms together in front of herself.

"Girls, just SHUT UP!" shouted their mother, finally fed up with their bickering. "Andromeda, she's only five years old. Why must you egg her on and keep arguing with her?"

Andromeda didn't reply to that, as she knew that if she did, she would probably be rewarded with a punishment that wouldn't be all that fun.

The next five minutes they waited in an awkward silence, waiting for the whistle of the Hogwarts Express that would be arriving soon.

Finally they saw the scarlet train pull up the station, and some of the tension was relieved as they saw Bellatrix come out of her compartment. They waited for her to get her things from the train and waved at her as she approached them.

"Bella!" Narcissa screamed and ran up to her. Bellatrix smiled and ruffled her hair, ignoring Narcissa's outstretched arms, preferring not to hug anyone, not just Narcissa.

"So what have you been up to, Cissy?" asked Bellatrix as the two of them made their way back to Andromeda and their mother.

"Not very much… It's boring without you there! Andi's always reading some book, and the only thing she's done is try and teach me how to read!" Narcissa complained in what she thought was a whisper, but was clearly heard by all.

Bellatrix only grinned at Andromeda in response, receiving a look that said, 'Oh, don't bother gloating, I already knew she liked you more.' Bellatrix did, however, decide to start off on at least a semi-good foot for all of summer, and asked Andromeda, "So, did you actually manage to teach her anything?" Not very nice, but it gave the illusion that she cared.

"I actually did, thank you very much," answered Andromeda. "She can now read a few of the more basic spell books with understanding of the majority of the texts."

"Ha, shows more talent than half of my year, probably," Bellatrix responded, disappointed with how much stronger she was already than most people in her year. "By the time she starts school, we'll have her knowing all she already needs to know, eh?"

"Probably. I _am_ a good teacher," Andromeda gloated. However, her gloating wasn't without reason. How many ten-year-olds could read well, let alone understand a spell textbook, even if it was basic?

"And a bookworm," Bellatrix muttered as they all grabbed onto their mother who had decided to continue their discussion at home. There was an uncomfortable feeling as the side-by-side Apparation occurred, and then they were in front of their house. Of course, they couldn't go straight inside of it, as there were charms and spells allowing the Blacks their rightfully earned privacy, preventing people Apparating inside of it, and the detection of spells. They _were_ the most noble and ancient house of Black, after all…

The three girls ran off into the living room where they sat on the couches around a small round table in the center of the room.

"So, what kind of things did you learn?" asked Andi excitedly. She would, after all, be attending Hogwarts the next year so she wanted to know.

"I don't know, I didn't exactly do well in my studies," Bellatrix responded boredly. After seeing the look of shock on Narcissa's face and the look of horror on Andromeda's, though, she simply laughed and said, "Kidding, kidding. Most of it was really boring, though…"

"But, will I have trouble with any of it?" Andromeda asked nervously. After seeing the smirk on Bellatrix's face, though, she realized that that was probably a bad question to ask. Bellatrix had always been rather conceided, and never thought that anyone could match up to her… So, naturally, instead of being afraid when Bellatrix nodded with the smirk growing even larger, she simply rolled her eyes and scolded herself in her mind.

"Did you get to fly?" Narcissa asked with awe in her voice at the thought.

Bellatrix nodded, her smirk turning into a grin. She had loved it, and had been a natural at it. She thought about trying out for the Quidditch team next year, as first years weren't allowed. Of course, there wasn't much that she _wasn't_ a natural in yet that she had tried for. Except maybe paying attention in history class… Professor Binns was simply boring. "It was so much fun, too," she added after Narcissa squealed in delight. Even Bellatrix had to admit, she was a cute little kid. Not that she would ever admit it out loud…

"So, what have you two been doing here besides being forced into being taught how to read?" Bellatrix asked curiously.

"Umm…" Narcissa said uncertainly and glanced at Andromeda.

"Well, we heard Mum and Dad talking the other day," Andromeda began as she glanced at Bellatrix. "And apparently, they've been preparing to have guests over soon. Me and Cissy don't know who they are, exactly," she explained.

"Why are you so nervous?" Bellatrix asked, rolling her eyes. "They're just people. It's not like it's illegal or anything."

"Well, you see, about that…" Andromeda began, and Narcissa only nodded, even though Bellatrix had a suspicion that she didn't exactly know what was going on and was just following Andromeda's lead.

Bellatrix simply gaped at the two of them, not thinking that her parents would ever do anything like this. "So, who's coming over, then?" she asked, curious who could possibly be this dangerous and also want to associate with their family.

"His name was something like Voldemort," replied Andromeda, shrugging her shoulders. "We were told to tell you about him, but not to tell anyone else that he was coming. So, me and Cissy are assuming that he's not someone that isn't exactly… reputable," she explained.

"Well, I gathered that much, thanks. You may be smarter than me, but I'm not completely stupid," Bellatrix said, rolling her eyes. She wasn't embarrassed by admitting that someone else, and Andromeda nonetheless, was smarter than her – it didn't trouble her at all because she knew that she was still stronger.

Andromeda just glared at Bellatrix for interrupting her rudely as Narcissa looked back and forth between the two. Bellatrix responded by raising her eyebrow and smirking, trying to goad her into fighting. Andromeda, though, sighed as she just backed down slightly – she _was_ the smart one, and also didn't even try to convince herself that she could face Bellatrix. Especially now that Bellatrix had actually gone to school and had a real learning environment.

'It's not fair,' Andromeda thought to herself. 'Bellatrix probably doesn't even _like_ to learn, and now she can hold that over my head!'

"Girls, get in here now!" their mother suddenly called from what sounded like the kitchen. All three of them looked at each other confusedly and sprinted in the direction of the voice as fast as they could. When their mother used that tone of voice, they knew better than to keep her waiting.

"Yes?" all three of them asked at the same time as they skidded to a halt in front of their mother.

"In one week, we will be having a very special guest," their mother began, glaring at the three of the girls while circling them. "I want no arguing, fighting, or misbehaving. Understand?"

Bellatrix and Andromeda glared at each other as all three of them chorused, "I understand" to their mother.

She nodded. "Good. Now, then I expect that you will also not argue during this week for practice, as a way to make sure that this will at least be somewhat possible. Hopefully this will allow me to keep my sanity, too…" she trailed off at the end as she left the room.

"Look at what you got us into," Bellatrix said glaring at Andromeda, placing all of the blame on her.

"Me?!" Andromeda cried angrily. "YOU'RE the one who –"

"GIRLS!" their mother screamed from the next room over.

"Sorry," Bellatrix and Andromeda sighed as Narcissa giggled. It was going to be a looooong week.

* * *

And a long week it was. All of the girls tried their best not to argue, but it just wasn't as easy as their mother made it seem like it was going to be. And after every argument, their mother was there, yelling at them as always. What kind of worried them the most, though, was that even their father seemed rather tense throughout the week, when he was actually at home.

Now, though, they were eagerly awaiting their guest, wondering when he would come to the house.

"Girls, go upstairs for now and let us get ready," their mother said exasperatedly to the three girls who were waiting in the living room.

"But we're not in the way!" Bellatrix protested.

"And they're actually not arguing!" Narcissa chimed in, who had noted how calm the two were being compared to normal.

"Just go and -" she began again, but was suddenly cut off by the sound of knocking on the front door. "Oh never mind," she huffed as she ran to the door to greet this 'Voldemort' person.

The three girls silently cheered amongst themselves, excited to meet this new person. As they waited, they each thought about who this new person was and what they were like.

'Oh, I can't wait! Maybe he'll be strong and teach me powerful spells,' Bellatrix said in her mind as she began to imagine what different kinds of curses and hexes he could do. If he was associating with her family and her family accepted him, he _must_ have been powerful.

'I bet he's evil,' Andromeda thought to herself as she saw Bellatrix grin at her thought and sulked mentally. Why couldn't her family associate with _normal_ people for a change?

'I hope he has candy,' Narcissa thought, as she hadn't had lunch yet because they had been on a cleaning frenzy, and she wanted some sweet, sugary goodness. What kind of five-year-old wouldn't?

"And may I introduce to you, Lord Voldemort, our three daughters," said their father who led the newcomer and his wife into the room that the three sisters occupied.

The three girls stood up to greet this man, who they saw seemed relatively normal. He did, however have snake-like eyes that were red, but he still had dark hair and was relatively handsome.

"The one on the right is the eldest, Bellatrix, and has finished her first year at Hogwarts this past year," their father explained as Bellatrix walked up to Voldemort to shake his hand, as they had been told to do.

"Hello, Lord Voldemort," she said as she held out her hand smiling, secretly wondering if he was even going to take it and acknowledge her. She already liked him – he definitely held a powerful aura around him, and demanded respect.

"Hello," Voldemort greeted back and shook her hand. He was slightly surprised when he discovered that she had even colder hands than his own, and kept the smirk that he felt from coming onto his face.

"The one farthest to the left will be starting school this year, her name is Andromeda," their mother continued as Andromeda rose to greet Voldemort as well. She however, did not smile and held out her hand limply, and nor did she look him in the eye as she waited for his handshake. By Bellatrix's smile, she already knew that she wouldn't like this man…

"Lord Voldemort," she greeted, not bothering with a polite greeting. He only smirked as he reached down to her hand.

"Andromeda," he returned in his voice that was rather high-pitched for a man. His smirk only grew as he felt her jerk a little bit at his cold hands.

"And the one in the middle, as you can see, is our youngest child, Narcissa," their father concluded the introductions.

"Aww, Voldemort, you didn't bring any candy?" she asked pouting as she stood up from the couch walking over to him. She seemed to not notice the sudden tension in the room as they waited for what Voldemort's response to her bold behavior. Not only did she ask for candy, but she also addressed him without the 'lord.'

Only a swift eye would have seen Voldemort's eyes flash dangerously before he covered it up and looked down at the small girl smiling sweetly up at him with her little hand outstretched eagerly. "No, I wasn't aware that I was supposed to," he replied to Narcissa, deciding that he would be polite. She was young after all… He _would_ have to speak with Cygnus about this, though. He took her outstretched hand and shook it, and watched her with an eyebrow raised as she skipped back to the couch she was originally sitting on with a smile on her face.

"Now, be good children and stay in here while we go into the guest room and discuss some things," their father said seriously, causing each of the girls to nod their heads. They knew that "be good" was the same as "don't fight, argue, bicker, threaten, blackmail, kill, etc. each other while you're without supervision."

The three watched the adults leave the room and then looked at each other thinking the same thought: 'Time to spy.' All of them rushed at the door the moment that it had been closed and pressed their ear to the crack in order to try and hear what was being said. However, after a minute of this they realized that a spell must have been done on the door so that they couldn't hear anything, because they didn't hear even as much as a whisper from the other side of the door.

"Hmm…" Bellatrix mused while they all wandered back to the couch looking crestfallen. "What should we do to at least hear _some_ of what's going on in there?"

"Well, one of us has to go in there, of course," Andromeda said immediately.

"Yeah, but who?" Bellatrix asked looking at the other two. "Who do you think would have the best chance at getting some of what's going on?"

"Well, it could be you, who is the most interested in this out of all of us," Andromeda began reasoning. "Of course, they might not like that because you're the oldest and have the best chance to understand what's going on. Then again, you might be useful. Next is me, the forgotten middle child who has no interest. That could prove to be an advantage, because they wouldn't feel threatened about speaking in front of me, as I don't care. And then there's Cissy," she added, glancing at the youngest sister who was listening intently. "Actually, I think she has the best chance… he didn't get mad at her when she didn't address him properly, and she's the youngest so they'll assume she won't know what's going on."

"I get to go?" Narcissa squealed excitedly.

"Shh!" both of the older girls scolded quickly. If they were going to send her in, the adults had better not have heard that for any chance of success on their part.

"Wait, Cissy!" they both called as she had already begun to walk across the room and open the door. However, by the time they had called, it was too late – the door had been opened and closed before Andromeda and Bellatrix had a chance to say anything. How was it that little kids could always move so fast when they wanted?!

Voldemort just watched curiously as Narcissa made her way around the table that they were gathered around and made her way to her mother. However, as she walked, she had heard some of the words from her father and Voldemort's last sentences to each other. She had already gotten what she wanted for her sisters whom she admired so – now to satisfy her own request, which was another reason why she had wanted to go in the room in the first place.

"Mum, can I have some candy?"

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Hehehe, I love Cissy. Hope you liked, and review please! 


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! Another chapter! And I just realized how much we all wrote in this story... we had originally made all of this chapter two alone, and looking at it now split it into 3 chapters. Hehe! I got a little carried away... but who doesn't like to read a good fight, eh?

And now shout-outs to the lovely people who reviewed and put us on story alert, etc!

Annonymous: Sorry I can't be more specific about your name, but I think you'll know who you are. Anyways, thanks so much! And I love ALL of those characters for the same reasons! But what about Andi? Thanks!

SharkiesGirl: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter too and that you still enjoy the characters! You even put us on Story-Alert! -feels special- -gives you a cookie- I love those, ask anyone... Hehe

beckeroni cakes: Yay! I was so happy when we got another review! And I hope this was updated soon enough for you... sorry if it wasn't! And don't worry, we'll keep this one going and won't let her quit it like she happens to do with other fics... -stares at Kinz-

Dark.BellatrixBlack: Thanks soooo much for putting us on story alert!

Sareana: -feels special- Another watcher! Yay! Thanks so much!

Now, we will continue where we left off for the summer. Enjoy! Read and Review! Constructive Criticism welcome... hehe

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Chapter 3

"Well?" Bellatrix and Andromeda asked eagerly as Narcissa stepped back into the room holding a bar of chocolate looking at the two triumphantly.

"Something about 'pure families' and 'all wizards,'" she responded, happily munching on her candy bar.

"Well, that's not very useful," Andromeda stated sadly.

"It's not?" Bellatrix asked, finding the information interesting.

"Of course it's not – we already knew it had something to do with being pureblood simply because he contacted us," she responded.

"Yeah, but 'all wizards' is new. What if he's trying to become Minister of Magic?" Bellatrix asked happily. She liked this new man and already approved of him more than she did their headmaster at Hogwarts. What was so great about muggle-borns, anyway? Obviously the were inferior to purebloods, but Dumbledore seemed to think all were equal… How quickly all of the children had learned their family's values of the superiority of their kind.

"I don't know if it's right, I mean -" began Andromeda, but was cut off with a look from Bellatrix. In the desire not to fight, she stayed silent for now – she remembered her father's look before going in to discuss their matters with this 'Lord Voldemort' guest.

Narcissa stayed silent, happily eating her candy as she watched the two go back and forth during that conversation. Now, however, she decided to pipe in: "They're not _completely_ worthless," Narcissa began, already knowing that her sisters were silently arguing about muggle-borns, as it was their biggest argument.

"How so?" Bellatrix asked, somewhat shocked that Narcissa was taking Andromeda's side for once.

"They could work under us!" Narcissa said with an adorable smile and a proud look on her face that she could finally participate in her sister's big-kid arguments.

"You've brainwashed her!" Andromeda cried at the smirking Bellatrix and ran at her, tackling her to the ground, as she had no wand yet.

Bellatrix however, had braced herself for impact upon seeing her sister's sudden movement, and the two of them rolled around on the ground punching, pulling hair, biting, scratching, and kicking at each other. All of their frustrations with each other of having bottled up everything all week were coming out into the fight, not to mention the whole school year when Bellatrix was away but had still managed to irk Andromeda with her smug letters.

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" bellowed their father as the girls stopped immediately and stood up. Both were breathing hard, clothes torn in various places. Bellatrix's black robes were slightly ripped, and she glared at Andromeda who was getting a black eye as her own cheek turned red from a vicious slap she had received. Narcissa sized up the damage and declared that Bellatrix had won, once again, however not by the usual long shot.

'Andromeda must have really been angry…' Narcissa thought to herself as she took another bite of the candy.

"I asked you a question," their father growled out, trying to control his anger in front of their current guest.

"Bella and Andi got into a fight," Narcissa responded as Bellatrix wiped blood off of her lip smirking and Andromeda covered up her eye with a grimace.

"Yes, I can easily see that," he muttered angrily. All three girls looked slightly frightened at what their eminent punishment would be. "Go to your rooms. I'll deal with you two later," he said with a glare at the eldest two.

Neither of the two girls said anything as they went upstairs, silently cursing the other in their mind. Andromeda had felt fully justified in attacking Bellatrix like that. And Bellatrix had convinced herself that she had only fought back in self-defense. There was no way she would let her younger sister think that she had finally beaten her!

"Well, I hope you're happy," Bellatrix said angrily. "Now we've barely even _met_ this new guy that decided to come."

"Then I'm happy just because you're not happy," Andromeda replied angrily.

"Well, you don't seem like you're in a good mood if you say you are," Bellatrix muttered in response.

"That's because SOMEBODY had to go and punch me in the eye!"

"HEY! _You're_ the one who charged at _me_ like a rabid animal!"

"Well, you deserved it with your brainwashing our five-year-old sister!"

"I can't help it she's taken up the family values, unlike _someone_," Bellatrix replied with a smirk.

Luckily by that point, they had come to their rooms. Both looked at each other, glared, and slammed their doors at the same time.

* * *

Downstairs, Narcissa still sat on the couch munching on a new candy bar she had received for 'not being involved in the fight.' Of course, in a sense, she had _caused_ the fight, but that tiny detail was immediately forgotten when the candy was pulled out. 

"Sorry about that, Lord Vol -" began their father, but was suddenly interrupted by more yelling. He simply waited for the yelling to be over, which ceased with the abrupt sound of slamming doors. Mr. Black closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then glanced at his wife. She seemed to be having as much difficulty containing herself as he was.

"Again, my apologies Lord Voldemort," he repeated, slightly nodding his head.

"No no. It was quite amusing, actually," he responded. "However, the middle child seems to not have the same beliefs as the rest of you... Am I correct in assuming this?" he asked in his smooth voice.

Both of their parents looked at each other nervously. "Well, yes..." Mr. Black began. "She seems to hold the idea in her head that all magic-users are equal."

"Trust me, it has nothing to do with our teachings or beliefs," Mrs. Black continued. "We will continue to try and make her see the error in her ways."

"Good, good. I had no doubts in that matter... Sometimes even in the best of families there are some parts that are tainted," Voldemort said, almost sounding sympathetic.

"Thank you. We will continue to serve you," replied Mr. Black.

Now _that_ caught Narcissa's interest as her ears perked up. 'Serve? Hmm, they'll like this new information,' Narcissa thought to herself happily.

They began to make their way to the door and Narcissa ran behind them to say goodbye to Voldemort. She pulled on his robes timidly, causing him to spin around quickly and see who dared touch him. Seeing the small girl he once again contained himself from doing something to one of his new allies that might make them break away.

"Bye," she said smiling up at him.

"Goodbye," he returned, showing no emotion whatsoever. "Until next summer," he nodded at her parents.

"Yes, Lord Voldemort," they both replied simultaneously.

As the door closed, both of Narcissa's parents turned to face her. "Go get your sisters," growled Mr. Black.

"Okay," Narcissa said, skipping off to go get her sisters while finishing the last of her second candy bar.

* * *

"Bella, Dad wants you," Narcissa said as she arrived in front of her door and knocked. 

"Well, I don't think I really want to go downstairs then, do I?" Bellatrix grumbled to herself as she got up off of her bed.

"I found out something, too!" Narcissa squealed happily, eager to please her older sibling.

"Heh, really?" Bellatrix asked smirking. "Go get Andi then, okay Cissy?"

"Sure," Narcissa said as she went across the hallway to get Andromeda and bring her to Bellatrix's room. 'Wonder why she needs Andi? Oh well.'

"Andi, come to Bella's room quick!"

"No."

"Yes! I've got some information! And you guys are supposed to go downstairs, so if we wait too long..." she trailed off, knowing that Andromeda knew that they would get into even bigger trouble than they already were in. Narcissa went back to Bellatrix. "She's coming," Narcissa told Bellatrix in response to her questioning look.

"What's this new information?" Andromeda asked excitedly, bad mood now gone at the prospect of learning more of this new evil character.

"Mum and Dad said that they would continue to serve him," she said intently. Then trailed on, "I thought that the Mudbloods would serve us, though..."

"Cissy! Where'd you learn that word from?!" Andromeda cried, upset that she had again stated Bellatrix's point of view AND had said the equivalent to a curse word.

"From Bella!" Narcissa said happily. Bellatrix smirked as Andromeda began to rant at her once again about not using words like that in front of children.

"Thanks, Cissy," Bellatrix said as she walked past Narcissa, ruffling her hair as she went downstairs. Andromeda followed still shouting, knowing that if she arrived any later than Bellatrix that she would be in even more trouble than they already were.

"What is the meaning of this?" their father said angrily, seeing that the two were, once again, arguing.

"She," began Andromeda pointing at Bellatrix, "taught Cissy a bad word!"

"It's not even that bad of a word!" Bellatrix shouted back, finally not able to take it any more.

"Yes it IS! It's RACIST!" Andromeda screamed dramatically.

"How so?" Bellatrix countered. "They ARE Mudbloods - their blood isn't pure, therefore it's dirty, like mud."

"Yes, that's being racist because you're judging a whole group of people based on something that they can't control."

"ENOUGH!" screamed both of their parents at once as Narcissa finally came down the stairs. "Now," Mr. Black continued after breathing deeply to calm himself a little bit more. "For your punishments. Unless you have anything to say to each other."

Both girls didn't do anything except glare at each other harder. Bellatrix began to say something, but thought better of it as she looked up to see her father's questioning glance in her direction. She didn't want him to go off again after he had just calmed down.

"As I thought," he said. "Now, here are your punishments: Bellatrix, you must finish all of your school assignments within this week. If they're not done, then I'll have to think of something else to do with you, and trust me, it will be during school and in front of all of your friends," he stated angrily. "As for you," he began rounding on Andromeda. "You can't read any of your books for the entire week."

"WHAT?!" Andromeda cried, baffled. Who would have ever thought that a parent would ban a child from reading or doing something productive. 'It does make sense, though,' she muttered in her mind. 'Make Bellatrix do something productive and deprive me of my hobby which is much more educational.'

"Want that to be two?" asked her mother threateningly.

"No!" said Andromeda quickly, one week was bad enough. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Bellatrix smirking at her. Andromeda didn't see much reason behind that smirk, Bellatrix had been give a punishment too, on that was defiantly loathsome to her. Narcissa on the other hand look absolutely delighted.

"YAY! Now you will have to play with me Andi!" she cried, leaping forward and dancing around her elder sister.

"Oh joy," muttered Andromeda, lacking any emotion, but luckily Narcissa didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't care. She looked over at Bellatrix again and saw the same smirk on her face.

'So that's what that was all about, she knows that now I have to spend all day with Cissy and that it is going to drive me crazy with her spouting all the nonsense that she had shoved into her little brain. Well, that is a game that two can play at. While Bella is stuck in her room all day working, I can try to change some of the horrible views that Cissy has adopted.'

With this thought, Andromeda returned the smirk, making confusion flash through Bellatrix's eyes. Though it was gone so fast that only Andromeda, who knew what to look for in Bellatrix's face, would ever know for sure that it had been there.

Bellatrix simply nodded and went to her room to begin her homework load, deciding to pretend that the smirk didn't make her curious at all.

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Thanks for reading! Hope that you enjoyed it and that it made you laugh at least a little! Comments much appreciated. Until later! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Yay! I remembered that I don't own any Harry Potter characters this time!

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ANOTHER CHAPTER! W00T! Anyways, hope this is enjoyable! Updates are kinda slow-ish, but at least they're pretty consistent, eh? Better than nothing!

Review Thanks:

VonDetta: Thank you sooo much for putting the story on your favorites! –feels special- Hope that you enjoy this chapter too!

FelsGoddess: Story alert AND A REVIEW!! Thanks so much!! I guess that means you enjoyed it enough to give a chance for your attention if we continue. Yay! Hope you enjoy this chapter as much (or more) than the others!

x-Scarlett-x: I'm sorry, I don't think I ever thanked you for adding us to your story alerts! –gives cookie as apology- Thanks! I have little cousins that do that too… And that's why it stinks to be the oldest. But I really like Cissy's part… hehehe Catherine's sisters also do the exact same thing. hahha

SharkiesGirl: Lucky! I stink at baking… If I ever offer you food that was MADE by me, then I'd politely decline, hehe. And I'm glad you liked it!! Hope this chapter is also worthy of your reading too!

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Chapter 4

"Ugh!" Andromeda cried frustratedly. It had been three days, and still there was little progress with Narcissa. She had convinced her not to call them Mudbloods, but there was nothing she could do to stop her point of view about the superiority of pure-bloods. That had been too far engraved into her brain, since her whole family supported this concept, not _just_ Bellatrix.

"What's wrong Andi?" asked Narcissa innocently. She still didn't understand why Andromeda was so upset about all this stuff. Didn't she want to be better then everyonelse? Bellatrix loved being better then everyone! Narcissa just came to the same conclusion that she always did, Andromeda was very weird.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? This foolishness that Bellatrix and mother and father have put in you head is what's wrong! Just because there is no non-magical blood doesn't mean that we are better then anyone and that we should have special privileges!" yelled Andromeda, completely fed up by now.

'Yup!' thought Narcissa, "definitely weird!' then she said to Andromeda, "Andi, why aren't we better then them? Our blood is better so shouldn't we be all better?"

"AAAAAAAA!" screamed Andromeda, "I GIVE UP!" and promptly left the room.

"Wait! Andi! Come back! What did I do?" cried Narcissa. Now she was upset, Andromeda hardly ever yelled at _her,_ she always yelled at Bellatrix. When Andromeda didn't come back, Narcissa ran to find Bellatrix, who was to be found in her room working on a paper.

"What're you doing?" Narcissa asked, looking over Bellatrix's shoulder.

"I'm writing a paper for Charms class, now be quite and leave me alone." Bellatrix snapped. Narcissa looked hurt, she hadn't done anything and Bellatrix was mad at her!

"But I wanted to talk to you!" she whined.

"Go talk to Andi, she has nothing else to be doing," was the curt reply.

"But Andi's mad at me!" Bellatrix sighed and set down her quill and swiveled around in her chair to stare at her little sister.

"What did you do?" she asked matter-o-factly. Narcissa didn't like it being assumed that she was at fault.

"I didn't do anything Bella! Andi got mad because I think that pure-bloods are better then mudbloods," said Narcissa, pleading with her eyes for her sister to comfort her and tell her that she did nothing wrong and then come and play with her. This was a far-fetched fantasy to have about Bellatrix, there would be no soppy cuddling reassurance coming from her. Instead she laughed and said,

"Its not you she's mad at Cissy, just go find her and ask her to play a game," and with that she turned back to her work and ignored Narcissa's protests that she didn't want to play with Andromeda anymore and her begging for Bellatrix to come and play with her instead. Eventually Narcissa gave up and went to sulk in her room.

'Why on earth would Father have given me this as a punishment?' Bellatrix asked herself, puzzled. It didn't make any sense. She expected to at least be smacked a little. Not that they were abused at all, just a normal smack in the face would have done. 'Odd,' she thought as she finished the last word in her Charms essay. Since it was only the third day and she had one assignment left already, she decided to take a small break. Honestly, how stupid did they think she was? It was only busy work. She doubted that teachers even read the papers, and instead just handed out grades after the first few paragraphs. Thinking more and more about her punishment, though, Bellatrix realized that her and Andromeda's punishments were barely punishments at all. Sure they seemed bad at the moment, but looking in hindsight, they had embarrassed them in front of someone of very high standing for their parents. Surely that would have called for a greater and harsher punishment?

"Andi, Cissy, get in here!" Bellatrix called.

"What do you want?" Andromeda asked as she walked into her room, followed by Narcissa tugging on her robes excitedly.

"Cissy, what was Lord Voldemort's reaction to our fight?" Bellatrix asked quickly.

"Um… I think he said that it 'amused' him… Why?" Narcissa asked curiously.

"That's why we're hardly being punished!" Bellatrix said, feeling proud of herself.

"Hardly being punished?! I'm miserable!" Andromeda said exasperatedly.

"Heh, that's because you're easy to punish. If you don't show much interest in stuff, then it's hard to take stuff away from you because they don't know if it'll really be a punishment," Bellatrix retorted.

"… You'll do anything to get rid of weakness, won't you?" Andromeda asked exasperatedly. "Pretty much," Bellatrix responded with a nod.

"Um, Bella?" Narcissa interrupted timidly.

"Yes, Cissy?" Bellatrix asked her. "How come you asked the same question that Andi did yesterday?"

"… Andi, this already occurred to you?" Bellatrix asked, slightly peeved. "Well, yeah. I mean, what kind of punishment is to do homework?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, it's punishment enough for me," Bellatrix muttered darkly. "And why didn't you just say something when you came in here?"

"I decided to be nice and let you have your moment, I guess," Andromeda said shrugging. Bellatrix just looked at her suspiciously before dropping the subject.

"So, we'll leave you to do your homework, I suppose."

"No!" Bellatrix said suddenly, the terror of boredom gripping her brain.

"I insist," Andromeda said, surprisingly enough the one smirking evilly at Bellatrix for once, and not the other way around.

"Come on, Cissy," she said more in the tone of a demand than a request, and ushered her out the door. Narcissa looked slightly frightened by this, and followed her after shooting Bellatrix a scared but sympathetic look.

"Well, that was unexpected," Bellatrix muttered to herself angrily, flopping down on her bed. She only had one more assignment anyways, so she figured she might as well do something else. She began to write letters to some of her friends. That way it would look like she was doing homework, at least.

* * *

"FINALLY! I CAN READ AGAIN!" was heard suddenly early in the morning four days later, successfully waking up the rest of the Black household. Their parents were expecting a reaction like this from their daughter, though, and Mr. Black rose with an evil grin on his face to see if Bellatrix had actually done all of her assignments. It wasn't that he enjoyed punishing his eldest daughter; he just wanted to get a chance to embarrass them like all parents like to do to their children. That, and she was rather lazy when it came to school, that much was already apparent.

Arriving at the door of her eldest daughter's room, he knocked and announced, "I'm coming in." He heard a groan as he opened the door, but he already knew that she was up because of her sister's joyous cry. NOTHING could sleep through that.

"It's all finished, somewhere in here," Bellatrix told him as he looked around the messy room. She had never bothered to put away any of her books or throw away rough copies of her essays. He raised an eyebrow at her as he scanned the room once again.

"What?" she asked as if this all were his imagination. "Well, if I'm going to write them, they might as well be well-written," she muttered glancing at all of the original drafts and began to pick some up and throw them away.

"Well, where are they?" he asked, looking at Bellatrix as though he expected this all to have been a joke and that she only did this to make him think she had done her summer work.

"On the desk in the corner," she replied holding back a smirk. She knew better than to seem superior to her own father. To her surprise, he sat down and began to look over some of her essays. She just stared awkwardly, not knowing what to do. She hadn't thought that he actually cared about her schoolwork – he had just wanted her to get it out of the way and punish her at the same time so that he wouldn't have to bother her about it later. Hoping that he didn't find her writing style or her essays completely stupid, she continued cleaning the poor, abused room. He grunted in approval and nodded his head, that being his entire response, as she knew it would be.

"Good, now I won't have to make you do that later and it's all out of the way," he stated, confirming her suspicions.

"Dad, can I ask a question?" Bellatrix asked, knowing that now was the best time for questions as it was too early for him to be angry at her for getting into a fight already.

"I suppose."

"Who exactly was Lord Voldemort?" Bellatrix asked, hoping that he would actually answer her question.

"You'll figure that out later," he responded and ruffled her hair as he left the room. 'Hmm… I think that means we'll be seeing him again!' she thought excitedly.

"Andi, Cissy! Come in here, quick!" she called.

"What now?" Andromeda asked, bringing her book in with her. Narcissa followed in shortly after, still in her pajamas.

"Cissy, did Lord Voldemort say that he'd come back?" she asked excitedly.

"… Why do you keep stealing Andi's questions?" Narcissa asked curiously.

* * *

Bellatrix stared moodily out the window. It was the last day of summer and it was raining, typical. Andromeda had made some comment at breakfast about the earth mourning the end of summer and preparing for the long winter. Bellatrix hadn't really paid much attention, just thrown her sister the usual 'must you always be so figurative?' look and continued eating. But Bellatrix secretly agreed with Andromeda, not that she would ever admit that out loud, it sucked that tomorrow she would have to get up early and get on a train to head back to school.

'Wish we could have found out more about the mysterious Lord Voldemort' she thought. After he had left and Narcissa confirmed that he would be coming back there really hadn't been much else to find out. Their parents were keeping extremely hush about it, at least around the girls.

Bellatrix sighed and leaned her head against the window but pulled back almost immediately as it was freezing cold. She looked around the room and almost jumped at the sight of Andromeda standing in the doorway…almost.

"What do you want Andi?" she snapped, peeved that her sister managed to startle her.

"Nothing," replied Andromeda in faraway tone, not noticing her sister's rankled tone.

"Well it must be SOMETHING, otherwise you wouldn't be standing there staring at me. What do you want?" Andromeda's eyes slowly focused and she really looked at her older sister.

"I can't believe that I'm starting Hogwarts. I really am going, finally." Bellatrix stared at Andromeda for a moment. 'That's right, Andi's coming with me this year,' a slow grin spread across her face.

"Yes you are Andi, you and me off together to Hogwarts. You better be good, prove to all those numbskulls that call themselves witches and wizards that the Blacks are the best of the best." Andromeda's gaze hardened and she met Bellatrix's eyes with a determined glare.

"Don't worry Bella, I'll be the best of the best. I promise you that, I will be the best of the best." And with that she turned and walked out of the room. Bellatrix stared after her sister. 'Was that a challenge?' she wondered. Her grin grew bigger, 'This school year was going to be very interesting…'

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Hope you enjoyed!! Please review! 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: We do not own anything of these Harry Potter characters… and I need to work on grammar.

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YAY! NEW ADDITION TO THE CHAPTER AFTER THE DREADED ENGLISH PAPER HAS BEEN COMPLETED! –celebrates with Catherine and Kinsey- And now, on to official thanking business! This chapter is also slightly shorter, but we'll update sooner. No worries! (Not that you were, most likely…)

JoeSchmo666: Glad that you like the fight and sibling rivalry! I really enjoyed writing the fight scene, it was so much fun! Which probably means there are more to come… hehe! And thanks so much for the TWO reviews AND story alert!! –is honored-

Tazza: So happy that you enjoyed the story! I love all the characters. Narcissa is so fun to write for breaking the tension of awkward or tense moments! And Andromeda and Bellatrix's fights and rivalry just amuses me…

SharkiesGirl: Glad that our chapter was up to your standards, and that this one continues to keep the characters in character that you picture!

I APOLOGIZE IF I MISSED ANYONE! Feel free to yell at me in a review if I did!

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Andromeda

Bellatrix sat at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall of Hogwarts staring at the doors through which the terrified first years would walk through in single file for the sorting. Among these would be her little sister, Andromeda. Bellatrix hoped that the noble and most ancient house of Black would not be let down by her. Andromeda's being so different from the rest of the family was now a real worry for Bellatrix and their parents. They worried that Andromeda would not be placed in Slytherin House and let down the family in a much more public way then Bellatrix and Andromeda fighting in the privacy of their own home. Bellatrix sighed as she wished for the umpteenth time that Andromeda hadn't inherited the rare compassionate gene or whatever that seemed to pop up every so often in the family. Unfortunately, at least in Bellatrix's eyes, there were two weirdoes in the family this generation. Sighing again at the thought of Sirius, Bellatrix rubbed her face and wished that McGonagall would just hurry up and get the first years in here so that she wouldn't have to wait in this agonizing uncertainty anymore.

Suddenly, the door burst open and in walked the line of small, scared-looking eleven year-olds. Bellatrix found the girl she was looking for at the front of the line, there she was, little Andromeda Black, so like her elder sister in her features, making a few heads turn from one sister and back again. Bellatrix smiled as she saw the glances between them, the Slytherins grinning, knowing that another Black would be amongst them, while the rest of the houses frowned at the thought of yet another future evil witch to worry about. If this new Black was as alike her sister in personality as looks, things were going to be a pain around Hogwarts for a while. Bellatrix may only have been there one year, but she had a reputation that would make several seventh years think twice about crossing her path.

* * *

Andromeda saw these looks too and clenched her new robes in scared hands. She had been so scared the entire trip to Hogwarts, so scared that she didn't even manage to be semi-impressed with the castle. What did she want? Did she want to be in Slytherin so that she would make her family proud and stop whispering about her behind her back, or did she want to be in another house where she wouldn't be looked at with distrust, fear or loathing. The feeling of fear grew to one of terror as the tattered Sorting Hat finished up its song and the list of names was unrolled and the few children in front of her was called one by one. She was so distracted with her thoughts that she didn't hear what houses they were placed in. Then suddenly...

"Black, Andromeda." Andromeda felt herself step forward and sit on the stool. Then the Hat descended over her eyes and all she could see was darkness.

"Hmmmm," said a small voice in her ear, "another Black has come to Hogwarts. Now normally I would have placed you in Slytherin by now," she tensed "Yet I'm not so sure, you are difficult, very difficult." The Hat was silent for a few moments. "I can see great potential in you and strength. You will do anything to achieve the ends you desire, I can see that so I suppose that the best place for you really is...SLYTHERIN!"

The hat was whipped off her head and she was momentarily dazzled by the sudden bright. When she had regain the us of her eyes she could see the Slytherin table cheering and clapping, all the faces grinning but none more then Bellatrix's, who's usually dark face was alight with pride in her little sister. She beckoned her over to sit in the empty seat beside her.

"Hey Andi, I'm so proud of you! Now you know that you are a true Black! Mother, Father and everyone else will so pleased to hear about this!" Bellatrix said as she beamed at Andromeda.

"Not Sirius," she replied sullenly, referring to her cousin Sirius Black who was a year younger and was a fellow misfit in the Black family. Bellatrix frowned slightly at this.

"Who cares what that prat thinks, he's only ten years old and doesn't know what he's talking about. You should be smiling Andromeda! Aren't you proud that you are keeping up the family tradition!" Andromeda nodded her head, though with out much conviction, yet it pleased her elder sister who turned back to the sorting. Andromeda continued to stare down at her lap and thought about what her sister had said. Was she proud? Was she happy to be in Slytherin? Was the Hat mistaken putting her here? She sighed as she realized that she didn't know the answer to these questions, which reminded her that there was another question that she wished to have answered. What had the Sorting Hat meant when it said it could see that she would do anything to reach her own ends? Andromeda shivered, she was being silly, the Hat put her in Slytherin and that was obviously where she belonged. At least her family would stop worrying so much about her being different anymore. She turned her attention back to the rest of the world just as the food appeared on the table and suddenly realized that she was starving. Bellatrix laughed as she watched her sister pile food on her plate and dig in with relish.

"Good food here, huh, Andi." Using the only form of communication available to her at the time Andromeda nodded enthusiastically. Bellatrix laughed. "Here, I want to introduce you to some of my friends..."

* * *

Later that night lying in the first year girls' dormitory in the dungeons, Andromeda reflected once more on her fate. She was a Slytherin, this was good, her family would be proud. She had been being silly earlier thinking that she didn't want to be in Slytherin, she was a Black and proud of it, she was honored to be just like the rest of her family. Yet somewhere deep inside she knew that that wasn't true, that she wasn't just like the rest of her family, she was different, the Hat had said so. Maybe the House you were in didn't mean you had to be just like everyone else in it. The Hat had said nothing about evil, for that is what she secretly believed her family to be to some level, she was cunning and worked for herself, she could be anything she wanted and no one could stop her.

Andromeda fell asleep with a smile on her lips and the thought that she would be a different kind of Black, no matter what crest her robes bore...

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And now, review if you enjoyed, think we need to improve, or just want to randomly rant at us! Happy holidays!! A new one will be out soon since this one was so short, AND it's an awesome time of year with no school… 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters…

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Yay! I told you we'd update this one a little faster for Christmas! Hope you enjoy! I LOOOVED writing this scene, it was so much fun! And guys, we'd really appreciate more reviews… We _like_ hearing what we do wrong so that we know we have something that we need to fix! Of course, hearing how great it is also works too… -grin- Please review?

And you even get thanks if you do! See!

SharkiesGirl: Yay! I'm so glad that you enjoy it again! Cameo will be coming eventually, we just have to find a place to put it in. And no Cissy in this chapter, sorry, but she IS in the next one, so no worries! And THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING!

Benvolia: Glad you enjoyed, hahaha. I'm guessing you can tell who each one is based off of… not like it's all that hard. Hehehe. Hope you like this one, too! Yay!

Brains That Fly Like Squid: That's a pretty sweet name… hahaha. And thanks for the favorite! Glad that you enjoyed!

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Chapter 6

"No, I will not admit that I am the same as the rest of my family, least of all **you**, Bellatrix, simply because I've been sorted into Slytherin!" Andromeda screamed angrily at her sister on only the second week of school.

Although it was only the second week of school, Andromeda had learned her magic well and naturally. Already it was apparent that this girl did in fact have the Black's family traits of power and knowledge. She had already gone to the library and began to learn more advanced skills for herself, knowing that it would be the only way to entertain herself. That, and she also figured that Bellatrix would have gone and done the same thing in order to be stronger than she already was, not that she really needed it. Already it was clear that both Blacks dominated their years in their magical abilities, that was certain.

"Why not? Scared?" Bellatrix taunted, grinning at her as she saw anger flash through Andromeda's eyes.

"Don't even try to taunt me, it won't work again," Adromeda said, trying to calm down as she knew that Bellatrix just wanted a fight. 'Why must boredom strike her now?' Andromeda asked herself. She had made it her goal to at least go a month without a fight in school with her sister. That way they might not know that she was all that different from her family just yet…

"Oh, really?" Bellatrix asked, as if playing along. "Then I suppose you **are** admiting you're like our family then, if you're not denying it…"

Right there, even though Andromeda knew that it was stupid to start off this early in the year with a fight, she whipped out her wand and pointed. Bellatrix, however was ready, and got the first shot in right away, having amazing reflexes for battle.

"Rictusempra!" shouted Bellatrix before Andromeda had a chance to do anything. Flying into the air, Andromeda's ony thought consisted of, 'Figures, she would use one of my weaknesses against me,' before she collapsed back onto the ground, tring not to laugh. She couldn't hold in a giggle, though, and this turned into outright laughter.

"Diffindo," gasped out Andromeda between heaves of laughter. She was amazed that she even managed to get the spell to work, but was immensely dissappointed when she found that Bellatrix had managed to dodge it. However, now the tickling charm was wearing off, and she stood up straight again, regaining her composure.

"Oh, ickle firstie fighting with her oh-so-stroooong second year sibling?" cackled a new arrival at the scene of their fight.

"Peeves, can you just go away?" Bellatrix asked, annoyed that her fight got interrupted and by his mocking their fight.

His only response was to stick out his tongue and throw a water balloon down, which Andromeda quickly used to her advantage and made it fly into her sister's face. Dripping wet, Bellatrix glared harshly at her sister as Peeves cackled from above their heads, gleeful that his weapon had actually been put to good use.

As Andromeda readied herself to attack again, Bellatrix had already planned her next move. "Glisseo!" she cried and pointed at the stiars that Andromeda was on. She stared at Bellatrix in confusion until she realized what she had done.

"You cheated!" she shouted angrily as she slid down the newly created ramp, the stairs no longer there.

"Hardly," Bellatrix replied to her. "You need to keep track of your surroundings too, Andi."It was almost as though she was teaching her how to fight better.

Almost. For that was when she decided to attack her again, sending another hex at Andromeda, who rolled out of the way just in time. Again, Andromeda sent her cloth-tearing spell at Bellatrix, this time landing on the sleve of her arm which was promptly torn off.

"You -" Bellatrix began, but was cut off by another late arrival, this time with more authority than the small crowd and poltergeist that had formed around the two girls.

Andromeda looke up, frightened by the new presence that now stood over her. 'And she's gonna blame **me **for this somehow, I just know it,' Andromeda complained to herself in her head, as she had slid down the ramp right into Professor McGonagall.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" screamed the Transfiguration teacher. "THERE IS TO BE NO MAGIC IN THE CORRIDORS!" Then she stopped to see who exactly it was that was fighting, and when she realized it was the two Black sisters her rage grew even more. "BELLATRIX AND ANDROMEDA BLACK! I AM ASHAMED OF YOU! Fighting with your own sister and it's not even two weeks into the school year! You two are bringing shame to you, your house and your family, I will take twenty points from Slytherin.."

"No!" They both cried. McGonagall paused and glared at them, her mouth set in a very thin line.

"Each," she added, the two sisters mouths fell open. "And you both have detention with me on Friday night at eight. Now both you get back to class, and I don't want to hear about you fighting anymore. I will be reporting this behavior to Professors Slughorn and Dumbledore, and see that a letter is sent home to your parents." With that she swept away leaving the Black sisters, one standing with one sleeve missing and one lying on the floor at the foot of the newly restored stairs, as the other students quickly left the scene and Peeves floated off cackling gleefully to go find something else to do.

* * *

"Come in! Come in!" called the cheerful voice of Proffessor Slughorn. Bellatrix sighed, she really didn't like him, though he loved her and even Andromeda already was getting to be one of his favorites. The two glanced at each other, putting aside their animosity for a moment, both feeling that sense of doom that comes right before you have to do the most long and boring task that you could think of. They pushed open the door and found the Professor standing near the front of the room beside the door that led to the students' spare indredients cupboard. Both groaned inwardly, knowing now what their task was. 'We're in for a long nigt,' thought Bellatrix. 'That place is a mess!' Andromeda was thinking along the same lines, Bellatrix could tell from the look on her face.

"Well what do we have here! It's the two marvelous Black sisters! What a treat! Though don't think that just because you're two of my favorite students, and that you're from my own house, that I'm going to go easy on you," he chuckled, wagging a finger at them as the walked slowly closer, the girls' feeling of doom growing stronger with each step.

"So tonight you're going to clean up this messy store cupboard! Just sort any ingredients that have become mixed together and alphabatize them! Shouldn't take two smart girls like you too long. Well I'm of to bed, I can't stay up as late as all you young people can anymore!" And with that he disappeared.

"HA!" laughed Bellatrix without humor, "Of to bed my wand! He's off to write some letters to all those famous people he says he knows and have a couple of glasses of mulled wine or something of the sort," she snorted. Andromeda looked at her in confusion.

"Well, I'm a memeber of the Slug Club, remeber?" Andromeda nodded. "Well, at the dinners he is always telling stories about how he is the reason a whole bunch of famous people are famous, and he always has mulled wine or whiskey or something like that to drink. Don't look like that Andi! We get Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice!" Andromeda relaxed, but also stored the other new information about her potions teacher away for later use. Meanwhile, Bellatrix walked over and pulled open the door to the storecupboard. The sight that met her eyes was not a nice one. Andromeda looked over her sholder and groaned.

"Shouldn't take too long! That old man is crazy!" Bellatrix nodded her agreement and they began working.

It was not fun, and it did not take a short amount of time. A box of bezoars had spilled into another box containing unicorn hair and they had to be fished out from among all the shining silver hair that stuck to everything. Powdered asphodel root had spilled and needed to be swept back into its jar again. One jar, of what Bellatrix guessed to be powdered lionfish spine, was found at the back of a top shelf broken and that had to be gotten out. Once all the other broken and spilled jars and boxes were taken care of they laid them all out around all the tables of the class room and began alphabetizing them. That project seemed to take forever. Finally at around midnight they had only one box left to put on the self.

"Dried Aconite," read Bellatrix, "typical that the last one would have to go on the top shelf." She handed the box to Andromeda and picked her up around the waist so that she could reach. Just when Andromeda cried "DONE!" Professor Slughorn walked in looking as if he had just woken up, which both girls suspected he had, and smiled to see this sight. They guessed it must be kind of funny looking, the two sisters that were in this detention for fighting each other helping to finish up.

'Well it's not as though we're going to be all hugs and kisses from now on, this is only 'cause we both wanted to get out of here as soon as possible,' thought Andromeda as, sure enough, Bellatrix simply dropped her instead of putting her down gently.

"Glad to see you two working together! Very Good! I'm glad to see that you got something out of this detention!" laughed Slughorn.

'Yeah, that you don't keep your cupboards clean and you don't seem to mind when your students misbehave, you just fall asleep and forget about them,' thought Bellatrix.

"You can both go back to your dormitories now. Sleep tight!" Slughorn said smiling at them, and then he waddled off back to his bed. Bellatrix and Andromeda ran out the door and down to the dungeons. They called a terse good night to each other as they went into their respective dormitories.

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Hey, Catherine here! Hope you liked this chapter. Let's all give Becki a hand for the amazing fight scene! –claps- I had a lot of fun writing McGonagall's reaction, too. I also hope that you liked the detention scene, took us forever to come up with an idea for a detention, didn't it Becki? I think it turned out nicely, I had fun looking up all those ingredients and writing about Slughorn. Do you guys think I did an ok job portraying him?? Please review!!! 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter… or in this case, the Black Family.

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YAY! Exams are finally over, so now we have a chance to update a bit! And wow, I've got to start writing more of my part. We've caught up! Hahaha. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter. And thanks for so many WONDERFUL REVIEWS! YAY! It really made our day(s) getting them. Catherine also says thanks soooo much! And so does Kinz! Heck, we all do!!!

And as thanks, and as always, here's our review responses!

JoeSchmo666: Glad you liked the fight scene!!! And yes, Catherine's AMAZING at characterizing people… -jealous-

SharkiesGirl: I'm so happy you loved the chapter! And thanks for the info about typos. I'll go back and fix them later. Hehe. Hopefully this chapter won't have as many – it shouldn't, seeing as Catherine wrote it, hahaha. I am the typo master… Fear me! Muahaha. Catherine's characters are awesome… I particularly liked her Slughorn, too.

Black Amber: I'm glad that you enjoyed our fanfic – the Black family is definitely one of my favorites, and I'm always nervous when I start to read a fanfic about them. Enjoy! And thanks for the alert list add, too!

x-slytherincess-x: I'm so glad that you love it! AND COOKIES! YAY!!!! –eats them and shares with Catherine and Kinz- mmmmm… I wish I could bake. And thanks for the alert add! Hope you enjoy!!

Silver Chaos-Light: Yay! Thanks for the alert, favorite, AND review! –gives you a cookie- Glad that you liked the story, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter as well!

IF I FORGOT ANYONE, JUST SCREAM AT ME! And now, Onward with the story!

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Chapter 7

"I see it! I see it! I can see the train Mother!" Shouted an overly excited Narcissa. She had been left alone at home for nine months with nothing to do except sit around and be tutored by her mother in reading and math. Plus her father was always telling her about magic and power and such stuff. So, this past year had been the worst of her entire life. But now, Bellatrix and Andromeda were coming home and she wouldn't be alone anymore, this summer was going to be so much fun! Narcissa couldn't contain her happiness and began to bounce up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Narcissa, stop that this instant, it is unseemly behavior for a young girl of your upbringing," said her mother tersly. Narcissa stopped immediatly, not wanting to get her mother into a bad mood before Andromeda and Bellatrix came home. She would most likly be in a bad mood soon after anyway, unless Bellatrix and Andromeda had decided that they wanted to be best friends and made up and were now never argueing. Narcissa shook her head to rid herslef of those silly thoughts, if that ever happened, the entire wizarding world would get them sent to St. Mungo's for examination for head truama.

Suddenly the scarlet steam engine rolled to a stop infront of them and the doors flew open, letting out a flood of students. Narcissa began craning her neck to find her sisters. She knew if she found one the other would be close by. Suddenly she felt a tap on her back and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She whipped around to find Bellatrix standing there.

"Bella!" she cried and flung out her arms for the hug she knew she wouldn't get. "How did you get behind me?" Bellatrix neatly stepped away from the hug and patted Narcissa on the head.

"I saw that you were looking in the other direction than I came from and so decided to sneak around behind you. Hello mother," she added as Narcissa pondered her sister's wisdom. Then Andromeda joined them, yanking Narcissa back from her idolization of Bellatrix.

"Andi!" she shouted, throwing out her arms once again, this time getting the hug that she wanted. "It's so good to see you!"

"You too Cissy, I missed you while I was at school. Letters aren't as good, though I am really impressed with how good your handwriting is coming along!" While Narcissa glowed with pride and the girls' mother smiling at her two younger daughters, Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

'Leave it to Andi to say something so bookish and be loved for it.'

"Lets go girls, grab on," said their mother. They all grabed their luggage with one hand and their mother with the other, and they apperated onto their front step and walked in. Bellatrix and Andromeda took deep breaths, it was good to be home again.

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Andromeda walked in the door to her room and smiled, it was just as she remebered it, she had missed having her own room while she had been at Hogwarts. Sharing a dormitory with a bunch of girls her age was not the party she thought it would be for several reasons. One, all the girls that were in her dormatory flocked all over her when she frist told them that she was a Black. Second, they ignored her when they discovered that she didn't seem to want to be there and didn't like them much. Thrid, they were always so tired after their classes and homework were done. Fouth, the dungeons were cold!

And fifth, everything was green and silver, the bedspreads, the curtains, the rugs, the furniture; it was sickening, green had never been Andromeda's favorite colors and now she disliked it even more. Those two colors did nothing to make the dungeons seem cozier. Now if Slytherin's colors had been maroon and gold like Gryffidor's then it would be ok, but silver and green? Andromeda's room was done in dark purple and white, she liked it alot and it make her feel warm and happy to be in it again.

She smiled again and began to unpack her things. Putting away her clothes and stacking her books on her desk so that she would remeber to do her summer homework. She had decided to get it done with early so then it couldn't be used as a punishment on her like it had been on Bellatrix last summer. Once that was done with she went to go find Narcissa. This didn't take long as all Andromeda had to do was open her door and she found Narcissa standing there with her fist raised as if she was about to knock. They both stared at each other in suprise for a moment, and then started laughing.

"I missed you SO MUCH Andi!" said Narcissa agian as she hugged her sister for the second time. "I've been so bored! I've had no one to play with or talk to without you and Bella!" Andromeda laughed and said, "Why don't we go find Bella then, and we can tell you all about what we did in school this year and you can tell us everything you did."

The three sisters sat in the living room. Andromeda and Bellatrix were telling Narcissa about the detention they got for fighting in the middle of the Charms corridor.

Narcissa looked thoughtful as her sisters finished their tale.

"Yeah, well we managed not to get any more detentions for fighting," stated Bellatrix, giving the impression that there had been a lot more fighting after that. "But what have you been up to, that was the only really cool thing that happened to both of us."

"But what about the cool things that happened to you alone?" asked Narcissa.

"Hey, just tell us the stuff you've found out while you've been home alone. We told you a story now you tell us one," snapped Bellatrix. Andromeda gave her a warning glare when Naricissa's eyes got teary.

Bellatrix sighed, "Sorry Cissy, we'll tell you all about everything else later, but we want to know if you found anything out about Lord Voldemort." She glanced at Andromeda who gave her a look that clearly said, 'You saved yourself that time, but be careful.'

Narcissa looked pacified and she began to think back to everything that she had heard her parents discussing.

"Well, I know that he is coming again soon," Bellatrix shot a look at Andromeda who did not look happy at this news. "And Mummy and Daddy have been whispering about him, all I could get is something about mudbloods -"Andromeda tensed "and gaining power before they would notice me and stop me." Narcissa looked very upset that she could not supply her sisters with all the information that they could use. Andromeda walked over from the chair where she had been sitting to sit beside Narcissa on the couch and wrapped her arm around her. She looked over Narcissa's head at Bellatrix who looked like she was going to say something about how there was hardly any information, but Andromeda could see Bellarix, surprisingly, biting her tongue under her younger sister's glare.

Bellatrix was not usually one to back down at her sister's glares, but there were several reasons for backing down this time. First, it was the first day of summer and she didn't want to start a fight that would get them in trouble and two, there was something to be had from the two small bits of information that her sister had managed to get. Before she passed final judgement on it yet, Bellatrix decided that the interrogation should continue a little longer.

"Hey Cissy, I think that you may have gotten some good stuff there." Andromeda looked at her sister in surprise, Bellatrix handing out praise? That was new. Bellatrix ignored her sister's inquiring looks though and continued to address Narcissa. "Can you remember any specific things that they said about mudbloods?"

Andromeda stopped looking surprised, 'Just trying to get on Cissy's good side so that she can get more information,' and rolled her eyes. Narcissa sat up straighter and rubbed her eyes, she would never let Bellatrix see her cry, happy to be able to help some more.

"Ummmm, well, they were talking about 'his plans for the future' and something about how mudbloods wouldn't be a part of it. That's what daddy was telling mummy." Andromeda's face was a mix of horror, sadness, and hatred. Bellatrix stiffled a laugh.

"That's really good Cissy! Anything else?" Narcissa glowed with happiness at her sister's praise.

"Later I heard them talking about him doing lots of research on, I think daddy said, dark magic and trying to get people to follow him." Andromeda looked sickened by this news, but Bellatrix found it very exciting.

What could this mean, he was looking for followers. What kind of followers? What did he want them to do? Would she be old enough to be one? All these questions raced through Bellatrix's mind.

Andromeda on the other hand was thinking something very different. He was coming here? To her house? This strange man who seemed to scream evil in her mind when she saw him for only a short period. This man who seemed intent on ridding the world of mudbloods. She untangled herself from Narcissa's arms and got up to leave. She wanted to go distract herself with her books.

Two pairs of eyes watched her leave the room, one full of concern and confusion, the other full of laughter and scorn.

* * *

"Girls! Come down here! Your mother and I wish to speak with you!" The three Black sisters looked up from their various occupations and sighed. They met in the hallway on their way to the sitting room where they had heard their father yelling from.

"Wonder what this is all about," said Bellatrix, "We haven't fought recently and I can't think of anything else we've done that would get us in trouble. It's the second day of summer for heaven's sake!" Narcissa nodded her head in agreement, but Andromeda was thoughtful.

"Maybe we're not in trouble, maybe they just want to tell us something important." Bellatrix was a bit peeved that she hadn't thought of that, but suddenly perked up as she thought of something that would be "important" enough for their parents to call them to a family meeting. Her "evil grin" as Andromeda had named it when they were little, spread across her face and Andromeda realized what her sister was thinking about and groaned inwardly. Narcissa was blissfully unaware of the tension that was silently building between her sisters.

When they got to the sitting room they found, as expected, their parents sitting in the two chairs opposite the couch. The sisters had no choice but to sit next to each other on it. Bellatrix made sure that Narcissa sat in the middle. Their father waited until they were settled before he began.

"Do you girls remember last summer, the visitor we had?" All the girls nodded; of course they did, and they had all just been thinking about and talking about him. "Well, he is going to be visiting again in two weeks time." This news produced various reactions from the girls; Narcissa leaned over and whispered excitedly in Bellatrix's ear.

"I knew it! I was right!" Bellatrix just nodded, a smug smile on her face and a gleam in her eye. She glanced over at Andromeda. The middle-aged Black sister had her mouth pressed in a line so thin that Bellatrix was reminded of Professor McGonagall, and her eyes were blazing, not with the excitement in Bellatrix's, but fear and loathing.

Why?! Why did that man have to come back? He was evil, she could feel it, even though she was only eleven, she had known what evil looked like, sounded like, and felt like all of her life. To know why, all you would have to do is look at her family. Andromeda didn't really fear her family too much, she was used to them saying and doing things that would make normal people shudder to even think about. But this Lord Voldemort scared her beyond anything ever had before. More than the time she was locked in a broom closet on the little-used fourth floor of their house with a huge rat by Bellatrix; more than the time she was almost drowned in a pond at the park when Bellatrix pushed her in. Thinking of him even scared her more then the idea of death itself. Why did he have to come into her life, she didn't need any more evil people around looking at her and wondering why she was the way she was.

Andromeda groaned and rolled over, she was stretched out on her bed staring at the purple stars painted on the ceiling. She sighed and sat up, staring around at the messy room. The house elf never cleaned up for her, she decided to try out some of those simple cleaning spells she had learned at school.

After about and hour, Andromeda found that she had a knack for these spells and was happily surveying her now spotless room which a proud smile. She felt much better (finding something new you're good at usually does that to a person) and decided to go find something else to do, seeing as she didn't feel like doing her summer homework now. Perhaps Narcissa would like to play Exploding Snap or something like that.

"Narcissa! Narcissa! Where are you?" Narcissa looked up from her picture book, _The Tales of Beedle the Bard,_ when she heard her older sister calling her name. Smiling she called out,

"I'm in the sitting room Andi!" A minute later Andromeda walked in smiling at her little sister sitting with the big book on her lap.

"Reading all by your self now Cissy?" she asked sitting next to her on the couch.

"Yes, I learned while you were at school. I had nothing else to do with you and Bella gone," said looking up at her sister with watery blue eyes. "Mama and Daddy wouldn't read to me and you weren't here, so I had to learn so I could hear my favorite stories." Andromeda laughed at the pout on her sister's face, knowing exactly what she was going to be doing for the next few hours. Sighing, she reached out and pulled the book onto her lap.

"Give it here Cissy, I know what you want, you don't have to ask me twice. Okay, The Fountain of Fair Fortune…" began Andromeda as Narcissa cuddled up to her side and laid her head on her shoulder. They stayed that way until all the stories had been read and they both dozed off on the sofa. Unfortunately, their peaceful slumbers were to be ended in a very violent way, going by the name of Bellatrix.

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Hope that you enjoyed! Review if you'd be so kind. Thank you!! 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter-related… Or… yeah…

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A/N: WOW, you guys. Sorry this took sooooo long! Exams seem to have lasted… six months… . Ah, well, we're back now! And SUMMER IS UPON US! So, with break, we'll write more! Yay!

From Catherine: Catherine here, sorry it's taken us so long! We suffered from group writers' block and school came down on us HARD! So thank you to everyone who hasn't given up on us, hope you enjoy.

And pooooooor Kinz is in France right now… hahahaha

Anyways, on to thanks!

x-slytherincess-x: Sorry it's been so long! Hope it's worth the wait to see what Bellatrix does, hahahaha. That was a meannnn set-up by Catherine that I had to come up with something to happen… hahahaha.

SharkiesGirl: Awww, you're so sweet! I'm sorry for the long wait! You've been such a good reader… I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

JoSchmo666: Glad you liked it! Sorry for the wait, hope you read this chapter too!

Chaos of Fayte: Okay, so it wasn't really soon. And I can't remember if I thanked you for reviewing before, so here you go! Thank you so much!

Note to anyone who added us to a different list, like favorite stories, and such: My e-mail address before this one was deleted, so I lost all of those notifications. I'm sorry! So here's a shout-out to you, if you didn't get one yet! THANK YOU!

And now to what you actually wanted… (Possibly…) The STORY!

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Chapter 8

"… AH!" shrieked Andromeda as she fell off of the couch wondering exactly what was happening. Of course, Narcissa was only being poked repeatedly in the back, seeing as it seemed that Bellatrix wasn't as mean to the youngest sibling. 'Not fair,' thought Andromeda as she groaned and got up, planning her outburst for Bellatrix.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR? I COULD'VE SERIOUSLY BEEN HURT! YOU ALWAYS DO TH-"

"Dessert," Bellatrix replied simply with a grin as she cut Andromeda off.

"YAY!" Narcissa squealed happily and rushed off for the kitchen.

"What.Was.That.For?" Andromeda asked Bellatrix through gritted teeth as they made their way down towards the kitchen after Narcissa slowly, not quite as energetic as their younger sister.

"For fun," Bellatrix said, turning to Andromeda with a large smirk on her face.

"Why, you –" began Andromeda as she accelerated towards Bellatrix who had walked a few steps in front of her when Bellatrix turned around and glared, stopping her in her tracks. Normally Bellatrix would grin and welcome the challenge, not become angry and simply try to use intimidation as a means out of it; not that it didn't work, she was generally successful either way. Heck, Andromeda herself was the only person she had seen stand up to her, aside from their parents when it was necessary, and that was seldom as well.

In response to Andromeda's confused and questioning glance, Bellatrix merely shrugged and looked away. "Mind your surroundings, I've told you this before," Bellatrix muttered as she pointed in front of her to the stairs. "Blind people have a better sense of what's around them than you do."

Andromeda stayed quiet, knowing that that wasn't the whole reason for Bellatrix's sudden anger. She made a mental note to ask Bellatrix later, and if she didn't answer satisfactorily, there was always Narcissa. The youngest one always had a habit of revealing information in subtle ways that didn't betray either sister's trust. Something that only the youngest child would be able to pick up on, being in constant danger from two violent and always-clashing siblings.

They arrived in the kitchen, and Bellatrix walked over to the cupboard asking what each of them wanted. All decided on some cookies and milk, as it had been a while since they'd been able to have some.

"So, is there any particular reason you felt the need to wake me and Cissy up, seeing as we were pleasantly sleeping?" Andromeda asked as she poured her milk into a red cup. She looked over at Bellatrix in time to see her roll her eyes.

"Well, I know that Cissy here, for one, likes to have dessert. I was hungry. And I _thought_ I'd be nice and have you come down too, but I suppose I'll never make that mistake again."

"Make what? The mistake of pushing me off the couch to wake me up? I should hope so!" Andromeda said glaring.

"No. I meant being nice," Bellatrix replied with a smirk.

"That was NICE?!" Andromeda shrieked, looking as though she wanted to throw her cookie in Bellatrix's left eye.

"It was only out of my own consideration that you both are down here at this point and time. Remember that," Bellatrix replied airily as she dunked her cookie in milk with a look of superiority thrown at Andromeda that Narcissa missed. Andromeda only shook her head and ate the cookie that was in her hand so she wouldn't 'accidentally' launch it at her older sister. As the three of them chewed, they heard arguing in the room next to the kitchen that they occupied.

"…No, Cygnus, I don't want the children to be involved _at all_ yet, and that is final!" shouted their mother. The three girls glanced at each other worriedly – why was their father even _home_ during the day? And now why were their parents arguing? Even though they were far from affectionate, they never argued or yelled.

"Druella, you have to understand this, even you -"

"I understand it perfectly, thank you! You see, you…"

But at that point it seemed to have clicked with their mother that she had shouted, which might elicit her children's attention; so at that point, she began to whisper harshly back to her husband. The three could only pick out insignificant words that held no value.

"Let's eat upstairs," Narcissa suggested, ignoring the worries of the elder two siblings. They just followed as Narcissa led the way to her room, Bellatrix looking at Andromeda with a triumphant smirk on her face. Andromeda just rolled her eyes, knowing that she was going to gloat about that being the reason she woke Andromeda up so abruptly; and indeed, it probably was.

They all gathered around on Narcissa's bed, Bellatrix grabbing a cookie as Narcissa pouted. "That was mine!"

"Ah, save it," Bellatrix said grinning as she popped the cookie into her mouth.

There was an awkward silence as the two just looked from one to the other. Andromeda just watched curiously, waiting to see what the youngest would do, if anything. Narcissa decided that the safest option was to simply get another cookie out of the box and forget about it. Andromeda just rolled her eyes at Bellatrix's smirk that was sent in her general direction.

"So, what shall we do now that Mum and Dad are arguing?" Narcissa asked as she finished what she decided was to be her last cookie.

"We could… read some more," Andromeda suggested happily.

"No way!" Bellatrix exclaimed. "We just got _back_ from school, no way am I doing anything that could be labeled as 'productive' for at least a week."

"Well, you have a better idea then?" Andromeda said with a glare.

"We could… um…"

"That's what I thought," Andromeda said smugly.

"We could ask each other random questions?" Bellatrix suggested, although it also seemed more like a question.

"Yay! I like that one!" squealed Narcissa happily. Bellatrix only smirked, once again.

"Fine! I have a question for you then, Bella! Why do you _always_ smirk when you outdo someone in even the smallest way and make it seem like you're the most clever person in the world?" Andromeda asked fuming, tired of receiving one of three looks from her sister: a smirk, a glare, or some sort of malicious grin.

"Why? Because it just proves that I'm that much more superior to that person, and it just happens to be you most of the time, little sister," Bellatrix responded happily, laughing as she saw the look on Andromeda's face. "When will you ever learn?"

Biding time until Narcissa was asleep was a task in itself for Andromeda and Bellatrix. Sure, she was one small girl that was generally well-behaved. But, after an hour of asking random questions that had absolutely nothing to do with anything, they began to see what others didn't about Narcissa. It seemed as though the girl never slept.

'And it's quite likely she doesn't,' thought Andromeda to herself. 'With the amount of sugar she eats, she probably avoids the crash after the sugar-high altogether.'

Bellatrix, thinking along the same lines as her sister, stared down in wonder at the box of Oreos, now nearly gone. Deciding she might as well save the rest of them, she began to stand in order to salvage the rest for later.

"Wow, Cissy, you done?" Bellatrix asked, hoping that if she pointed out that there were only a few left, she might realize how much she had eaten and discover that she was full.

"I can be," Narcissa replied with a small sigh, and looked at Andromeda as a plea to let her eat a couple more cookies. Bellatrix, however, was too fast for either of them and snatched up the box and took it to her own room.

'There, now I'll have some for later. I could always use a midnight snack,' she thought happily. 'Now… hopefully by the time I get back to the room, Cissy will have fallen asleep… Doubtful, but one can hope.'

"Back," Bellatrix announced upon her entrance.

"Hooray! You ask the most random questions," Narcissa giggled, sugar kicking in.

"And this is why I'm a pessimist," Bellatrix muttered to herself. "It's better to not even get your hopes up."

* * *

An hour and thirty-six minutes later, Narcissa was finally asleep, much to the relief of her two older sisters. They could now discuss what they had heard in the kitchen earlier, which would have frightened Narcissa and worry her too much.

"So?" Bellatrix asked with a grin on her face as Andromeda turned to face her as she turned away from Narcissa.

"Is that why you were in a bad mood earlier then?" Andromeda asked, a little surprised. She didn't think that her sister really cared about anything enough to let her emotion take her over, even if it was only for a little bit. 'Then again, it was simply anger, so it must not have seemed like as big of a weakness for Bellatrix,' Andromeda thought to herself.

"Sort of…" Bellatrix began. "Sure, I mean, Mom and Dad fighting made me a little upset. But I also _want_ to help, and judging by what we heard, it would actually be of use, too. I don't get why Mom would be so opposed."

Andromeda stared at her sister in shock. She had known that Bellatrix had a ruthless side to her. But to want to join the man that she felt was so obviously plain _evil_? It scared Andromeda more and more each time the thought flew through her head. And if this Voldemort character had Bellatrix on his side… Sure, Bellatrix was young, but also was a surprisingly quick study for actually working very little.

"Bella, before you get more upset, how do you even know that Voldemort _wanted _you?" Andromeda asked skeptically towards her sister. After all, she was only thirteen, and of hardly any value as she currently was.

"Why wouldn't he?" she replied with a smirk. "That, and Dad asked how I would feel about eventually working for him. So, even if he doesn't want me now, he still might consider me for later."

"You're thirteen! Of course he doesn't want you now!" Andromeda fumed, becoming more and more angry at Bellatrix's attitude by the second. First she was angry and had taken it out on herself by pushing her off the couch; then she lashed out before going downstairs, where she pretended that everything was normal and acted even more smug than usual. And now she was being downright conceited. _Someone_ had to put her in her place.

"Age doesn't matter! I could take on half of the fifth years and still win!" Bellatrix bit back, a bit sore after Andromeda's verbal punch.

"Yeah, but what about the rest? And that doesn't even begin to cover the adults that have already left Hogwarts," Andromeda continued.

Bellatrix glared at Andromeda. It was obvious that neither would ever agree with the other about the subject. Bellatrix had felt honored in the prospect that Voldemort might want her help; Andromeda would have been repulsed.

"I've still got the potential to be of great use to him later," Bellatrix finally responded. "And when the time comes, I will do whatever he asks."

"You hardly do what our parents ask, and yet you say you would do what a stranger asks! What's wrong with you?!" Andromeda wondered confused.

"A lot," Bellatrix replied with a smirk. Andromeda only threw up her hands and left the room. Hopefully she would calm down after a night's sleep…


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter… But in this case, mostly just the Black family. Yay for NOT having Harry in a Harry Potter fic! –celebrates-

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Alright people… we didn't get many reviews last time… But… we're gonna update anyways since it was such a long wait last time. Come on… we really like the reviews! Please?

x-slytherincess-x: Wow! What timing! I'm so happy that you enjoyed it again, we were worried that we'd lost like… all of our readers! And Thanks for adding us to favorites! Here, I'll give you Oreos since you did! (They're like… half my diet. –grin-) Anyways! Hope this is soon enough! Hehe

SharkiesGirl: I'm glad that you still continue to enjoy it, even after all this time! Sorry for the long wait… We won't take as long in between anymore with summer!

Special thanks to Aspieturtles for adding us to the story alert list! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!

AND ONTO THE STORY!

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Chapter 9

"BEEEEEEEEELLAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

"What is it mother?"

"GET ALL OF YOUR THINGS OUT OF THE PARLOR NOW!" Bellatrix sighed and dragged herself off the couch in the living room as her mother continued to scream up the stairs. "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO SPREAD YOUR THINGS EVERYWHERE? YOU SHOUDLDN'T EVEN BE IN THE PARLOR AT ALL!"

"Calm down mother, I'm coming to pick it up right now!" Bellatrix yelled as she slowly made her way down the stairs.

Andromeda smirked as she bounced up the stairs with a book and a glass of water in her hands. 'I love it when mom yells at Bella,' she thought happily. 'It makes my day.' Her grin broadened as she saw the scowl on Bellatrix's face.

Bellatrix walked into the parlor to find her mother telling the house elf to clean more carefully and that every speck of dust left behind would be a day with out food. Bellatrix stifled a laugh at the look of terror on the elf's face.

She then began to look around for whatever it was that belonged to her. She spotted a book on dark magic that she had been looking for, along with a stack of old school papers she had dumped on the table immediately upon her arriving home from Hogwarts.

"BELLATRIX! FINALLY! GET ALL OF THIS OUT OF HERE NOW!" screamed her mother as soon as she had finished blasting a hole in the house elf's pillowcase tunic for not getting the golden candlesticks to shine perfectly.

"Mother, it's a book and some papers, calm down," sighed Bellatrix as she gathered up the stack of papers.

"WELL IF YOU WANT TO EXPLAIN THE MESS TO LORD VOLDEMORT WHEN HE GETS HERE, THEN BE MY GUEST!" Mrs. Black's eyes had taken on a demonic gleam that usually would have prompted Bellatrix to take her stuff and run before any more holes were blasted. But the name "Lord Voldemort" had erased Bellatrix's sense of self-preservation completely.

"Lord Voldemort? He's coming! WHEN?!" she exclaimed. Mrs. Black looked ready to explode at her adolescent daughter, but decided to answer the question. She knew Bellatrix would become very annoying if she didn't find out right away, and would probably be much more open to cleaning if she knew it was for Lord Voldemort.

"Three days, and this house had better be in perfect order by then!" Bellatrix hadn't heard anything past "days," as she was already half way up the stairs to Andromeda's room on the third floor. (A/N: For reference, the parlor is on the first floor, speedy girl that Bella.)

Andromeda was lying on her bed reading the assigned Transfiguration chapters while also formulating arguments to present to the teachers on why summer homework was such a bad idea. She knew that she would never ever in a million years work up the courage to tell McGonagall that giving summer homework was stupid; the punishments were only too easy to imagine. Shuddering, she decided that that was enough transfiguration of one day and shut the book. Getting up from the bed, she grabbed the empty glass from beside her bed and headed for the door.

Just as Andromeda reached for the door knob, the door flew open, and a large, dark mass came flying at her. She screamed as she and the lump went flying through the air onto her bed.

"ANDI! HE'S COMING IN ONLY THREE DAYS!" Andromeda gasped for breath as her attacker rolled off her and became identifiable as Bellatrix. An extremely happy Bellatrix, meaning only misery for Andromeda.

"Say that again Bella, and this time don't scream it in my ear. Keep the frequency down too, you get so high pitched when you're excited," Andromeda said as she rubbed her ringing ear. Bellatrix's face flashed to a frown for a second, but her happiness couldn't be deflated that easily.

"Lord Voldemort will be here for another visit in only three days!" exclaimed Bellatrix, grinning triumphantly at her younger sister. Andromeda felt as though Bellatrix had punched her in the stomach. The color drained from her face as she stared into her sister's unusually bright eyes.

'Why does she get so much pleasure at the thought of that horrible man? Is she really that evil?'

Andromeda felt like crying; sure she fought with Bellatrix and would tell anyone who asked that she hated her, but deep down at blood level she did love Bellatrix, and really, really didn't want to believe that her sister got such joy from evil.

Andromeda's musings on family love and sisterly evil were interrupted though by Narcissa.

"Bella, mom says that you are not to run around the house like a mad woman when Lord Voldemort is here," recited the young girl. Then, having done her duty, she walked over to the bed and plopped down between her older sisters. Bellatrix rolled her eyes at the message and grinned at Andromeda, who looked away quickly. Narcissa noticed the tension and patted Andromeda's arm.

"Don't worry Andi, he'll only be here a few days, he won't even notice you probably," she said cheerfully. Andromeda's expression of concern changed to confusion and Narcissa felt compelled to explain. "He'll be paying attention to Bella because she'll force him to notice her, and he'll pay attention to me because I'm so cute. But you won't stand out because you're not cute like me and you won't show off like Bella."

Bellatrix laughed at Narcissa's explanation while Andromeda just sighed and shook her head.

"You're right Cissy. It's only a few days. I shouldn't be so worried." Bellatrix stared at Andromeda as she turned to pick up the glass Andromeda had dropped when she had tackled her. 'Good thing Mom and Dad bought the ones with the Unbreakable Charm on them,' she thought absentmindedly. Then she looked at Andromeda's face. She grabbed Narcissa's hand and dragged her out of the room before Andromeda started to cry.

"Come on Cissy! Let's go find something to do!"

"What? I want stay and talk some more!" Bellatrix glared at her littlest sister and pulled the door shut behind them. She then pressed her ear against the door; sure enough, Andromeda was already in tears. Bellatrix turned back to Narcissa about to explain in vague terms why they had to leave, Only to find that Narcissa was already walking down the hall.

"Cissy! Wait! Come back here! Where are you going?"

"Andi's crying, so we shouldn't stand around outside her door listening. I'm going to go brush my hair." Narcissa skipped down the stairs to the floor below and went to her room. Bellatrix hurried after.

"How do you know Andi's crying?" she asked. Narcissa threw her a look that said, 'You're so stupid sometimes,' and explained,

"I could tell before you even grabbed my hand, her nose was turning red." Bellatrix was slightly confused.

"Why did you try and stay though?"

"Because I didn't want her to know that we know she is crying! If both of us ran out of the room it would be obvious," Narcissa explained to her eldest sister as if she were a simpleton. Bellatrix was a bit shocked, but also rather pleased. Her little sister was shaping up good, very devious and clever - a true Black.

* * *

Three days later, the three Black sisters were dressed in their best dress robes and were standing in a row at the foot of the stairs. Their mother was fussing with Bellatrix's mane of hair, trying to get it to look somewhat presentable. Narcissa was watching this with smug satisfaction, thinking about how wonderful her beautiful blond looked today. Andromeda was staring off into space clutching at her dark red robes. Their father was pacing in front of the door rubbing his beard.

"Cygnus, please stop all that pacing! You'll put a hole in the floor," Mrs. Black chided her husband as she conjured up a hairbrush and proceeded to tug at the tangles in Bellatrix's hair.

"OW! MOTHER!" screeched Bellatrix as her mother yanked through a particularly nasty snarl.

"I'm sorry darling, but this really needs brushing. Why didn't you do it earlier?!"

"I DID! It just gets all tangled right away no matter what I do!"

"Perhaps you should find a charm that will make it so it doesn't do that. But I suppose your head is all filled up with curses and hexes that you don't have room for practical spells," commented Andromeda offhandedly, who had come out of her trance at the sound of her elder sister's pain. Bellatrix glared at her.

"Curses and hexes are very practical, what use would a hair de-tangling charm be in a fight?" Andromeda shrugged at this biting response.

"Well, if you want to look like a wild person when Lord Voldemort gets here, be my guest. I'm sure you'll be exactly what he is looking for," she said lightly as she went back to staring at the door. Mr. and Mrs. Black shot meaningful glances at each other as Bellatrix's eyes grew wide for a moment and then narrowed dangerously.

"And I suppose you know a charm like that, Andi?" she challenged.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Mother, may I please have the brush?" Andromeda asked as she held out her hand. Mrs. Black looked once again at her husband, who nodded, and handed the brush over to her second child. Andromeda then pulled out her wand, and glanced at her father, asking for permission to perform a spell. She knew she would get it, The Ministry of Magic wouldn't be able to tell that it was her who was casting the spell, and her parents really didn't care. Mr. Black indicated her to go ahead, so she tapped the brush and muttered the incantation. Bellatrix looked apprehensive as her sister started to brush her hair out.

"Wow...that really works, you don't have to yank at all! Will this stop it from getting tangled again after?" she asked.

"Yeah, it'll last for the rest of the day, or until you get it wet," replied Andromeda. Bellatrix started to turn her head to look at her hair over her shoulder as Andromeda began to braid it. She was rewarded with a sharp crack over the head with the brush.

"What the heck was that for?" she yelped at her sister.

"Don't move your head!" responded Andromeda sharply as she finished up and tied a black ribbon around her sister's long dark braid. Narcissa watched all of this. Both of her sisters were in a good mood today, which was a good sign. Narcissa went back to playing with the end of a lock of her hair, thinking about how nice today would be.

Sighing in relief at her daughters' seemingly cooperative behavior, Mrs. Black turned to her husband with hopeful eyes. Her sigh was quickly transformed into a gasp as the doorknob turned on its own, revealing their long-awaited guest.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own the Blacks or Voldie… -sadface-

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A/N: Becki here. O.o Have I even given my name out in one of these before? Anyway, I'm SOOO SORRY THAT I TOOK LIKE, ALL SUMMER TO WRITE THIS! But now with school, I'll be motivated to do this because it'll be way more fun than actually focusing on homework. –grin- So… I really hope this chapter was worth the wait. If not… then you can review and complain! Hehe.

And this is Catherine. I too, apologize for Becki taking so long, I swear that I tried to make her work on it. I gave her Popsicles! Took the girl forever, but I think that she did a good job, I mean look, PLOT! haha! Anyways, please review, we love getting them, good and bad. OH! And enjoy the chapter!

Review Thanks:

SharkiesGirl: I'm glad that you enjoyed the word choice. Let me tell you, it was NOT all me. I have awful word choice, hahahaha. And the characterizations! I always worry about those… Hope you enjoy this chapter too! Sorry it's taken so long.

Trumpetina: Thank you SOOO much for the review and adding us to your Author Alert AND Story Alert list! Sorry that this wasn't a very quick update… That was my fault. Now that school's back, I might write more to avoid homework and all. Enjoy!

x-slytherincess-x: Awww, thanks so much! Sorry that this took so long… But you actually get to see some of Voldy's conversation! Hope that makes up for it a little bit… Hooray for Voldy!

buttonbit: Yay! I'm glad we've got you off on a good start then! And thank you so much for the add to the Story Alert list! Sorry that it's taken so long to update… Bet you'd have forgotten about this without that alert.

That appears to be all! I'm SO SORRY IF I MISSED YOU! Just yell at me if I did…

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Chapter 10

"Welcome, Lord Voldemort," greeted Mr. Black, the first one to gain composure after the sudden intrusion.

"Thank you," Voldemort responded, sounding rather cold as he dropped his cloak onto the waiting house elf. Each of the girls bowed respectfully to Voldemort. Although the gesture was the same for all three, the meaning conveyed for each was quite different.

Bellatrix only bowed for a short amount of time, but her wide grin and raised left eyebrow revealed her sincerity and interest in seeing the man once more; Voldemort smirked knowingly, aware that she was already eager to do his bidding at such a young age.

Turning to Andromeda, Voldemort's smirk grew even wider. She bowed stiffly and rigidly, while instead of eyeing him, eyed her sister with a glance of worry. Bellatrix remained unaware, but the Dark Lord noticed, and it fueled his ego further to know that children such as them could notice his power and influence.

And last came little Narcissa. This year as she bowed she had enough sense not to request anything from him, at least. But she was still too young to understand what exactly was going on. It was clear, though, that her sisters had brought some understanding to her for her own protection.

He nodded to each individually in return, saying their first name as he did. Their father then guided Lord Voldemort into the living room, and offered him something to drink while all three girls sat on the couch, hoping that they wouldn't be shoed out of the room right away. Not to anyone's surprise, Voldemort declined the offer for food or drinks; however, surprising all of them, he said nothing when the three girls didn't leave the room.

Instead, he turned to them and nearly giving the two eldest daughters a heart-attack (for different reasons, no doubt) he asked them how they were doing in their studies at school.

Suppressing her joy to herself at the thought of Voldemort actually somewhat acknowledging her, Bellatrix calmly replied that she was at the top of her year, if not in first place. She didn't want to seem like she was bragging.

At Bellatrix's reaction, Andromeda scoffed. She knew that Bellatrix was just acting calm so that she wouldn't sound conceited. She didn't even understand why. If this guy was as powerful as he seemed, he would already know that her ego was just about as big as they come for a Black. Which was pretty darn big, if she did say so herself.

"I'm also at the top of my year," Andromeda said quitely, but also with a tinge of pride. Her reason for modesty was quite different from Bellatrix's, though; she didn't want to stand out to this stranger.

Voldemort nodded to Mr. Black, showing his approval. The two just looked at each other, saw the confusion, and decided to ignore it for now.

"They got in a fiiiight," Narcissa sang happily, feeling left out.

"Cissy!" they both hissed at Narcissa. They both knew that Narcissa was perfectly aware of what she had done, judging by the smile she gave to feign innocence.

"Really, now? Again?" Voldemort asked, surprising himself that he had to fight showing his amusement. He let a little smirk show, though, and mentally grinned when he noticed the two girls' internal panic on how they should act.

"Well," Andromeda began, figuring she had the best chance at fixing things because she was the calmer one.

"Yes," Bellatrix interrupted with a shrug. Andromeda sent a glare to Bellatrix, who ignored it. "But that was the only time we were caught," she added happily.

Voldemort outwardly raised an eyebrow, turning to face Bellatrix. Inside, he was smirking, already able to tell that all three grils knew that he had enjoyed their little fight last time he was present. He was surprised that Bellatrix was already using this to her advantage, and amused that Andromeda tried to cover it up.

"I believe it's time for some drinks, don't you agree, Cygnus?" Mrs. Black suggested nervously, gesturing to the parlor.

"Yes, I agree," he replied quickly, and they ushered (politely, don't worry) Lord Voldemort towards their cabinet where the alcohol was kept.

"Firewhisky?" Mrs. Black asked, already opening a bottle. It was going to be a long night…

* * *

"Awww, why'd they wreck our fun?" Narcissa pouted, staring at the door knowing that they weren't supposed to follow.

"Fun? FUN?! What do you think you were doing, pointing out that we fought at school?" Andromeda fumed, angry and ready to lash out from a dose of fresh adrenaline from the panic that was caused just moments earlier.

"Well, _I _found it entertaining," Bellatrix answered with a smirk while Andromeda shot her a glare. "And it proves our point that he most likely enjoys it when we fight or argue."

"But _why_?" Andromeda asked, knowing that Bellatrix wouldn't look for sense. Sure, he enjoyed the fights. But what did it prove?

"It doesn't matter to me, I already found out what I wanted to know," Bellatrix answered with a shrug. Andromeda knew exactly what she was doing; she was trying to make her angry enough and provoke another fight while he was there, probably to show off how much stronger she'd gotten, and hopefully prove her worth.

"I'm not going to get into a fight with you, Bella," Andromeda hissed angrily at how she was being toyed with. She was her own sister!

"Yeah, I agree…" Narcissa piped in.

"What? You too, Cissy? Why?!" Bellatrix asked surprised.

"Well… Wouldn't it seem like you were almost asking for attention?"

"…" Bellatrix had nothing to say, as she had just been bested by her youngest sister. Then again… "Well, I am."

"So, you want to seem desperate, then?" Andromeda asked, picking up onto Narcissa's idea quickly. In fact, by this point, they all knew how it would play out. The majority usually won in the case of these three, and the swing vote was always Narcissa. This was one of the few but crucial times that Bellatrix would have to back down.

"I suppose you're right…" Bellatrix conceded with a sigh. Then she asked, "Well what do we do now?"

Andromeda rolled her eyes. It was like her sister didn't know how to do anything other than fight. How did she even have friends? "We can just sit and talk… Or do you not know how to do that?"

"I can talk just fine; but with _you_, it generally turns into an argument."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Guys!" Narcissa yelped, trying not to laugh.

"What?" hissed Bellatrix and Andromeda, both rounding on poor Narcissa in their fury. She shrunk back in her seat, her laugheter ending immediately.

"You're doing it again…" she said quietly.

"Oh," Bellatrix said with a small grin. Her small acknowledgment of it was concealed by Andromeda's "Oh! I'm so sorry that we rounded on you like that, I didn't mean to 'Cissy!"

"Ah, well. I'm going to go upstairs and write to some friends, then," Bellatrix decided after seeing Andromeda rush over to Narcissa and start to apologize.

"Okay," Narcissa chirped happily, as Andromeda had just offered to play a game with her as atonement.

"Who could possibly want to hear from you anyway?" muttered Andromeda under her breath, still mystified how people could want to be friends with her violent, arrogant, abusive, and rude older sister.

"I HEARD THAT!" Bellatrix yelled from halfway up the stairs. Andromeda and Narcissa just looked at each other with wide eyes.

"She did not," Andromeda whispered to console Narcissa. "She was just expecting me to still be angry at her."

"I DID TOO HEAR WHAT YOU SAID!" Bellatrix answered. Narcissa and Andromeda decided to go and play some Wizard Chess in Andromeda's room…

* * *

"And why must she wait?" Voldemort asked impatiently. Cygnus was all for allowing Bellatrix to be trained by him. Bellatrix would be more than willing. He needed someone competent in the future, and the best way would be by training someone from an early age.

"She's too young!" Druella said as she glared at her husband; he was obviously expected to support her, but he had decided to agree with Voldemort.

"That's exactly his point, though," Cygnus said calmly. "If she's taught early, she'll be much stronger. She already shows the potential to learn, why not give her the chance to? I've read her homework, and we've both seen her grades. She's bored, at the top of her year, and thinking about joining the Quidditch team this year. She's smart, strong, and talented. Why let that go to waste?"

Voldemort smirked as he saw the look on her face drop. It was only a matter of time now before she would allow Bellatrix to be taught.

"Next year, then?" Voldemort asked as he reached for some Firewhisky himself, deciding the matter was settled and celebration was in order. "She'll be thirteen, then; a lucky number, I dare say."

Druella said nothing, only nodded stiffly in defeat as she raised her glass to the other two as Cygnus said a short toast, and they all drank.

* * *

Again, hope it was worth the wait! So sorry, hope you enjoyed your summer!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Hey, we own nothing of Harry Potter…

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Hey guys! Another chapter! Put your hands together for Catherine's awesome work this time around! –claps- Catherine says that she hopes you guys enjoy it, and hopes that you won't mind if the next few chapters are shorter since this one's soooo long. And here we go to thank you guys…

Little dreamer forever: Thanks for the constructive criticism. I hope you understand that we wrote this for fun, and that maybe if we were only a few chapters into the story we would fix the dates, but since we're on chapter 11 we're keeping it as it is. Thanks!

x-slytherincess-x: Yeah, sorry about the nickname – but Catherine has a story for that, so we'll get to that later, I think. –grin- And yes… I'm still slow even with popsicles, sorry. T_T Thank you so much! Hope that you enjoy this, and sorry that it wasn't a very fast update!

Techmaga: Thanks for adding us to the alerts! Hope that you enjoy this chapter too!

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Chapter 11

Five days later all the Blacks were once again lined up in the front hall. This time there was no pacing, no arguing, and no hairbrush violence. Everyone was very still and very quite as Lord Voldemort prepared to leave.

"Thank you for your hospitality Mr. and Mrs. Black, I shall be seeing you again next summer."

"You are very welcome Lord Voldemort, we are honored that you chose to visit us again. Of course, you shall be most anxiously awaited come next summer," said Mr. Black, bowing slightly to the tall, imposing figure of Lord Voldemort in his long, black traveling cloak.

Bellatrix felt a thrill go through her as Lord Voldemort turned to leave. Why had both he and her father looked at her when they mentioned his visit next summer? Why did her mother look so grim; there was a frown behind that forced smile. And what on earth did Narcissa and Andromeda know that had them glancing at Bellatrix every ten seconds. They had been very strange for the past four days, ever since the first night Voldemort had stayed with them. It was very suspicious behavior that Bellatrix intended on figuring out as soon as Lord Voldemort disappeared out the door.

Said Lord's "Goodbye girls" snapped Bellatrix back to reality in time for her to bob her head and say "Goodbye Lord Voldemort" along with Andromeda and Narcissa. With that he was out the door and they all heard the distinctive pop of someone disapparating. There was an audible sigh of relief from Andromeda and Mrs. Black put a hand to her head.

"Thank goodness nothing went wrong," she said as she headed for the parlor and, presumably, to the bottle of Firewhiskey locked away in the cabinet. Mr. Black turned to the girls, who immediately straightened up again under his dark eyes.

"You were very well behaved, I'm proud of you. Now go upstairs to your rooms and don't bother your mother and I for the rest of the summer." And with that he followed his wife into the parlor, leaving three rather bewildered girls behind.

Bellatrix and Andromeda glanced at each other, while Narcissa's forehead creased in concentration as she put into words the thoughts the three of them were sharing,

"Did we just get sent to our rooms for being good? For the rest of the summer?"

The three stood in silence pondering this statement, and then Bellatrix snorted and Andromeda burst out laughing followed by Narcissa. Soon the three of them were on the floor in a heap laughing, not even sure if the idea of being sent to their rooms for the rest of summer was really that funny. Perhaps it was an outpouring of all the emotions that had been pent up while Lord Voldemort had been there; all the tension they had built up trying to be the perfect daughters their parents wanted to present was leaving in great waves of laughter. These wave crashed all too soon on the solid dam that was thrown up by their father standing in the door of the parlor and telling them to do as he said, in a rather loud voice.

Still giggling madly, the sisters hurried up the stairs where they would supposedly have to spend the rest of summer.

* * *

"Sooooo," drawled a voice from Andromeda's doorway. She didn't need to turn around, she could see Bellatrix leaning against the door frame reflected in the window.

"What?" she snapped. The book she was reading was getting good, figured that Bellatrix would turn up right then. She always did have perfect timing

"You know something." Andromeda winced, she had hoped Bellatrix would have forgotten about that until school started or something - Voldemort had been out of the house for only two hours! She should have known better then to think something stupid like that about her older sister. Andromeda decided to take the smart-mouth way of avoiding the impending conversation.

"I know a lot of things Bella."

"Yes, but one of those things is something I don't know, and that bothers me."

"Bella, I hardly think I know only one thing that you don't know."

"That's not funny Andi, I'm being serious. You and Cissy know something that I don't, and I want to know what." The look on Bellatrix's face should have been enough to make Andromeda stop being annoying – seventeen year-olds had made hasty retreats under that stare. Andromeda, however, had seen it many times before, she liked to see how far she could push Bellatrix before it got seriously dangerous.

"Narcissa also knows many things that you don't know, and the two of us together could probably write a book about things that you don't know."

"Andi, I said this wasn't funny, and that "I could write a book" cliché is so old. Tell me right now why you two have been all weird and secretive the whole time Voldemort was here. And tell me why Mum was all tense, I bet you know that too. Tell me now."

Andromeda decided that the game was over and turned around in her chair to face her sister.

"Cissy heard some of the conversation between Mum, Dad and Lord Voldemort the first night he was here," Andromeda said staring down at the floor after she said this. She really didn't want to tell Bellatrix about the conversation. She really didn't want Bellatrix to know; she would be insufferable for the rest of the year.

"Really?! Cissy got information and you DIDN'T TELL ME!" shrieked Bellatrix, all the excitement and curiosity and anger that Andromeda knew would be there was there.

"Yeah, she got information. We didn't want to tell you because we didn't want you to make a fool of yourself," That got Bellatrix's suspicions up right away

"Make a fool of myself? How so? Why would I make a fool of myself? Have I EVER made a fool of myself? What kind of information would make me do that?" these questions came pouring out of Bellatrix's mouth and crashing down on Andromeda just as hard as she thought they would. She couldn't do this alone, she needed Narcissa.

"Go find Cissy, she'll tell you what she heard," was all Andromeda could say at the moment, watching her sister growing crazier by the second. Caught between excitement for the fact that the Lord Voldemort had been talking about her and terror by what it could be that would make her act foolish in front of him.

Leaning out the door she screamed "CIIIIIIISSSSSSSYYYYYYY!" causing Andromeda to wince and grab two of the pillows from her bed as Bellatrix drew another breath to scream "GET UP HERE NOOOOOOOOOOW!"

Three seconds later Narcissa came out of her room from down the hall looking nervous.

"Yes?" she asked as she entered the room. Bellatrix grabbed her and sat her on the bed.

"What did you hear?!" she demanded. The little girl looked confused and said,

"You said my name and to get in here now. Was that a trick question?" Bellatrix was not amused, one smart-mouthing little sister was enough for her, thank you very much.

"Don't be stupid. Five days ago you heard Lord Voldemort talking about me to Mother and Father! WHAT DID HE SAY?" Narcissa looked genuinely scared as Bellatrix clung to her shoulders and yelled at her. She looked to Andromeda for help.

"Bella, let go of Cissy, and stop shouting. There is nothing to panic about, you'll find this news rather enjoyable." Andromeda wished it weren't so. Bellatrix however, immediately cheered up and stepped back from Narcissa.

"Oh, I was really worried there for a moment. Tell me though! Now you really have to tell me if it's good news!"

"I never said it was good, I said you would find it enjoyable," muttered Andromeda. Bellatrix took no notice, she simply stared at Narcissa, waiting for her to spill the beans. Narcissa shifted under her sister's gaze and looked once more to Andromeda. Andromeda closed her eyes and shrugged her shoulders.

"We might as well tell her now Cissy. This way she'll have time to calm down and become used to the idea, rather than freaking out and making a fool of herself when the time comes." Bellatrix rounded on Andromeda, her temper rising.

"Who are you to decide things like that! You think you know better than I do? Tell me what he said or you'll wish….!"

"BELLA! I'll tell you, Andi and I just didn't want to tell you right away because we thought Mommy and Daddy would tell you or maybe I heard wrong. She doesn't think she's better than you," Bellatrix's threat died in her mouth as she her the wonderful words of "I'll tell you" come from her sister's mouth.

"I'm all ears, Cissy."

"Lord Voldemort said that next summer…he wants you to train with him." The silence was deafening, as Andromeda and Narcissa watched their sister absorb the full meaning of this simple statement. Her face went from a blank mask, to confusion, to comprehension and final exuberance within thirty seconds. For two minutes she stood with the look of one who had just witnessed a great miracle, and then she fell over.

Andromeda had almost started to think she had actually died of happiness until the screaming started.

"HE WANTS ME TO TRAIN WITH HIM!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Bellatrix jumped up and ran out of the room into the hall, still screaming and laughing, all comprehensible language abandoned in favor of unintelligible shouts of joy. Narcissa watched in awe as her sister spun around up and down the hall way with her head thrown back and her dark hair swinging wildly about. Andromeda turned away and closed the door; the reaction was worse than she expected. It was going to be a long year.

* * *

Three days later, the three girls were in their rooms. Well, technically, Bellatrix and Andromeda were in their own rooms, writing a letter and reading, respectively. Narcissa was sitting on Bellatrix's bed, swinging her short legs, not-so-patiently waiting for Bellatrix to be finished with her letter.

"Bella! Hurry up! I wanna play!" she whined.

"Be quiet Cissy! I want to finish this letter to Rodolphus," came the short reply.

"Who's Rodolphus?"

"A friend of mine, now shut up."

"Don't tell him about you-know-what, Andi doesn't want you to." Bellatrix turned around in her chair and glared at Narcissa.

"I don't think Andi wants you telling me everything she says. I don't want you telling me everything she says! I'm not stupid! I'm not going to tell anyone…for now." This outburst was met with silence and stillness from the bed and Bellatrix resumed writing the letter. A knock on the door broke through the air, shattering Bellatrix's much wanted peace.

Throwing down her quill, she threw back her head and closed her eyes.

"Andi, what do you _want_? I'm _trying_ to finish a letter!"

"Bella, it's not…" Narcissa began to say when the door opened, revealing Kretin, the house elf.

"Begging the misses' pardons," he, then, realizing that he had interrupted Narcissa, howled loudly and started to bang his head on the foot of the bed, narrowly missing Narcissa's leg. Bellatrix watched impassively as the elf attempted to give himself a concussion, Narcissa following her big sister's lead. Once Kretin had stopped, Bellatrix spoke.

"You almost hit Cissy's leg. Go iron your fingers," she ordered coldly. The house elf hesitated.

"That's two punishments," Bellatrix said warningly.

"Please, missus, the mistress has a message for the three girls -"

"Three."

The house elf looked agitated, as Mrs. Black's and Bellatrix's orders clashed.

"Four," Bellatrix counted with obvious pleasure. "Better hurry," she taunted.

"Kretin don't!" Andromeda commanded, coming into the room. "Bella, do you always have to be so cruel?"

Bellatrix just grinned evilly and shrugged. Andromeda rolled her eyes.

"Now, what was your message?" Andromeda asked the house elf. It glared at her.

"Blood traitor," it muttered.

"What was that?" Bellatrix hissed, even though it was perfectly clear what the house elf had said.

"Five," Narcissa added happily, proud that she could join in the conversation.

"Cissy!" Andromeda gasped. "Don't say things like that! The poor house elf doesn't need to punish itself for calling me a blood traitor."

"Oh yes it does," Bellatrix said darkly. "Nobody insults my sister and gets away with it, except for Cissy and I. Yes, that'll be five. Thank you, Cissy. Now, what was your message?"

"The misses are supposed to meet the Mistress in the parlor at exactly three o'clock," the house elf recited. The three girls looked at the clock. It was three-o-one.

"Uh-oh," Andi said. "We're dead."

"Mmhmm," chimed Bellatrix and Narcissa, they were most certainly deceased.

The three girls full-out ran down the halls and down the stairs, Bellatrix and Andromeda dragging Narcissa along, since she couldn't run as fast. In one and a half minutes, a new record for them, the sisters reached the parlor. Not to be confused with the sitting room, the parlor was for much more important, formal things. Andromeda couldn't figure out what they had gotten called there for. It was normally never used, or at least the children were never allowed in. She hoped that it wasn't something to do with Lord Voldemort, but that was the only reason that she could think of.

Bellatrix, on the other hand, was hoping that it was indeed something to do with said lord. She still hadn't figured out what Voldemort was lord of, but she was trying in her free time. She wanted to learn all she could about the man she would study under next summer.

Narcissa was hoping for another candy bar. Honeydukes, preferably, although it was considered too 'common' for the Black family. It was Narcissa's favorite, thanks to Bellatrix clandestinely sending a box of Honeydukes chocolate to Narcissa for her birthday.

However, all three girls were wrong.

What was waiting was much worse for Bellatrix, much better for Andromeda, and disappointing for Narcissa.

Beside the irate Mrs. Black stood their cousins, Sirius and Regulus, and their parents, the sisters' aunt and uncle, Walburga and Orion. Andromeda and Sirius grinned at each other, Bellatrix grimaced, and Narcissa pouted.

"No candy?" Narcissa asked sadly.

"Narcissa," Mrs. Black said sharply, causing Narcissa to shrink back towards Andromeda, who she knew would give her more comfort than Bellatrix. "Behave in front of your relatives."

"Yes, mother," Narcissa mumbled sullenly.

"Girls, you three are going to be staying with your aunt and uncle for the rest of the summer. It has been awhile since you got to spend time with them. Now go pack your bags." And with that their mother turned her attention entirely away from her daughters and began talking to Walburga.

"Sirius!" whispered Andromeda, waving at her cousin to follow. The taller of the two boys grinned and followed the girls out of the parlor. The other boy hesitated, glanced at his mother, who was deep in conversation, and then dashed off after the others.

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"This is going to be so much fun!" yelled Andromeda as they reached the third floor. "Five weeks with you Sirius! And then back to school!"

"Yes, but you'll have to put up with my mother for five weeks as well," said Sirius. They all paused and reflected on this for a moment.

"Well, Aunt Walburga isn't much worse then out mother, and besides, she likes us because we're girls," concluded Bellatrix smugly. Sirius rolled his eyes while Narcissa giggled and Andromeda smiled.

"We had better pack though, she won't be nice to us if we're slow just because we're girls," Andromeda said as she turned around and went into her room. "Oh! Sirius! Can you get Cissy a suitcase from the end of the hall?"

"No problem, Dromeda!" Andromeda appeared in the doorway, a look from hell on her face.

"NEVER CALL ME THAT!" she screamed, while Bellatrix rolled her eyes and continued pulling things out of her wardrobe and Narcissa paused from deciding which stuffed animals to bring to glance at Regulus who was still standing in the hallway. Sirius let out a bark of laughter, "Calm down Andromeda! You really need to stop letting that get you all riled up! It's far too much fun for me!" Andromeda continued to glare at him as he continued on his way to the closet. Regulus shifted uncomfortably, he felt at risk standing there in the hallway, so he darted into Narcissa room.

Sirius was still grinning as he carried the suitcases back. He gave it to Narcissa and turned to Andromeda. She just crossed her arms and continued to glare at him. The seconds ticked by, and Bellatrix came out to grab her school cloak from the closet, rolling her eyes at the childishness of the situation. Finally, Sirius stopped grinning and said "I'm sorry, I won't do it again." Andromeda's gazed relaxing into an annoyed smile and she turned to go into her room, remarking of her shoulder, "You're such a liar," sending a huge smirk across her cousins face.

"ARE YOU DONE UP THERE?" came the shout from downstairs, bringing a short halt to all movement.

"I'M DONE!" shouted Bellatrix, heading for Narcissa's room, "I'M GOING TO HELP CISSY PACK NOW!"

"WELL HURRY UP! WE DON"T HAVE ALL DAY!" Andromeda resumed packing at double speed.

"What do I need, what do I need?" she muttered, "I wish they had given us more warning! I have to pack all my stuff for school! UGH! NOT ENOUGH TIME!" Sirius was scampering around the room holding up random things going "Do you need this?" while Andromeda frantically packed all the books she thought she knew she would need for the coming school year into her school trunk.

"Do you need this?" she looked up and saw him holding her telescope.

"YES! Put that next to my herbology book."

"What about this?" A pair of silver dress shoes.

"No, but I do need the black ones, put those next to my bed."

"And this?" A peacock-feathered quill.

"No! don't be ridiculous, Sirius!"

"How can I be ridiculous serious? That's a contradiction."

"STOP THAT! You always do that! It's not funny anymore!"

"Yes it is. So do you want these quills and this ink then?"

"Yes, thank you. Ok, I think that's everything I need. Now for my clothes." And she commenced piling all her clothes into the trunk.

Hearing another shout from her mother, Andromeda dragged her trunk, and Sirius, out of her room and down the stairs in seconds. Bellatrix, Narcissa and Regulus were close behind. Soon, all five were assembled in front of the parlor's fireplace.

"We're traveling by floo?" asked Narcissa, who had always been a little afraid she'd get lost in some stranger's home.

"Yes, so pay attention and keep your elbows in. We don't want you getting lost." Narcissa was not comforted at all by her father's warning. Gulping, she huddled closer to Andromeda as their uncle laid out the order in which the would go.

"Walburga has already gone ahead. Bellatrix, go with your trunk, then Andromeda with her trunk, Narcissa, Regulus, then Sirius with the suitcase and then I'll follow up the rear," He stepped back and Bellatrix threw a fistful of floo powder onto the fire, grabbed her trunk and stepped in, shouting. "Number 13 Grimwald Place!" and away she whizzed. Andromeda followed quickly, stumbling out into the other Blacks' kitchen.

"Hurry up! Get out before your sister gets here!" shouted her aunt as Andromeda struggled to yank the large trunk out behind her. Barely seconds later Narcissa appeared, her long blond hair covered in ash and her face streaked with soot. Aunt Walburga ordered Kreacher to start handing around wet rags to everyone so they wouldn't "get the entire house filthy within in minutes of their arrival," and then she swept out of the kitchen with their uncle.

"HEY!" shouted Bellatrix as Sirius threw his dirty rag in her face. "Why are you so immature?" she yelled as she lashed out with hers, whipping him across the shoulder.

"Look who's talking!" he retorted, grinning, as he rubbed his shoulder.

"The girl with two rags!" she proclaimed and began swiping at him full force with a dirty wet rag in each hand. Andromeda and Narcissa laughed, while Regulus stood uncomfortably in the shadows, eyeing the door, wondering if he could make it before his mother returned wondering what all the fuss was about.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" Nope, too late. "WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

"She's beating me mother! With our own rags!" Sirius cried from behind his raised arms.

"Well I'm sure Bellatrix had a perfectly good reason for doing so. You are not to behave childishly while your cousins are here, is that understood young man? These are proper, well brought up young ladies, not crazy boys you can run around with and tackle. I don't want to hear of you doing anything to bother them like this again. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone had gone silent, Bellatrix lowered her weapons, and Sirius felt it safe to come out from behind his shield.

"Yes, mother." Sirius said docilely , almost too docilely for Andromeda to take seriously.

Aunt Walburga sniffed, but seemed to be satisfied and she left, Kreature at her heels cackling over his shoulder at Sirius, who stuck out his tongue. They all waited for the door to click shut and then Bellatrix whipped the unprepared Sirius.

"OUCH!" he was immediately shushed by everyone and he glared at them all before continuing in a half whisper, "What was that for? I take all the heat for your actions and you whip me!"

"What? You can't take it? Does it hurt too much? Am I too strong for you?" challenged Bellatrix.

"NO! I was just saying…"

"Whatever," said Bellatrix as she grabbed her trunk, "Hey Regulus, would you mind giving me a hand? I assume we're staying in the usual bedrooms." Regulus bound forward, he didn't like it when Sirius made Mother and Bellatrix angry, they were the two scariest people he knew.

"Yeah, up on the fourth floor, same as always," He said grabbing the other handle of Bellatrix's trunk.

"Sounds good, let's go. Come on, Cissy!"

Andromeda and Sirius watched the three leave the kitchen, and then turned to look at Narcissa's abandoned suitcase.

"We'll just set it on top of my trunk and carry it that way," sighed Andromeda "come one, help me." Sirius moved to grab a handle as Andromeda set the suitcase on the trunk and grab the other. They tried to heft it into the air, but only managed a few centimeters before it thumped back to the ground.

"What do you have IN here Andromeda?" cried Sirius, who had nearly missed a severe toe injury. He pushed off the suitcase, which seemed disproportionally bulky to the small, feathery girl it was supposed to be sustaining. Throwing open the lid of the trunk, he was confronted with over a dozen hard cover books stacked on top of all Andromeda's clothing for the rest of summer and school.

"How are you going to fit your new school books in if you bring all these big ones?" he asked incredulously.

"I'll manage," said Andromeda as she slammed the trunk shut again. "What else am I going to do?" she asked sadly. "It's not like I enjoy hanging out with my housemates all that much, so I read."

Sirius looked up at his sad cousin, he had always hated it when she was upset. "Don't be silly Andromeda! I'm going to be there this year! I won't let you get lonely! We'll have all sorts of adventures without all the other Slytherins!"

Andromeda smiled at Sirius. He would make the year more fun. But staring at him, Andromeda got a strange feeling.

"Are you so sure you'll be in Slytherin?" she asked as she hoisted up her end of the trunk. Sirius threw her a look as he lifted his end and started steering them towards the stairs, a look that told Andromeda a lot. She decided that she would make these last few weeks of summer as fun as she could, she would need something to hold her over for another year.

But all too quickly, the weeks were gone and before any of them knew it, it was September first and Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Sirius were on the Hogwarts Express, heading towards a year behind the castle walls.

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Thanks for reading! Please review??


	12. Chapter 12

Yay, another chapter done thanks to Catherine! I just can't finish chapters… I just write, and then I'm like, "Now what?" and never come back to it. So, she finished this one up for me. –high fives Catherine- Now reviews, and then the story!

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x-slytherincess-x: Thanks so much for the review! Glad you liked the reaction, hahahaha. And I think I changed the spelling now… not really sure, though. If his name comes up again, it shall be fixed, though!

SharkiesGirl: Hahaaha, sorry for using 'smirk' too much. I guess I like that verb, hahaha. It just fits so well. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry for the long update, all my fault. School sucks.

Gedwayignasia: Glad that you liked it! Sorry if you don't read this 'cause of the long update…

x-Scarlet-x: Yay, you liked the reaction! Hope this was worth the wait…. Hahaha. It's a fun chapter, though. Good break from like… school. Ew.

Hate to love you: Thanks for the story alert add!

Attraversiamo: Same as above, hahahaha.

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Chapter 12

So far that year, everything had been going fine for the most part. Andromeda was disappointed when Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor, but not surprised. He made his own friends quickly enough in that house, and already began developing his own reputation with them. Again, not surprising – he _was _a Black, after all, even if he did like muggle-borns.

Bellatrix, on the other hand, was not pleased at all upon Sirius' house difference. Even though she didn't get along with him, she at least figured he'd be with Andromeda. Now the competition was fairer between the houses, which Bellatrix didn't like at all. At least there still was Quidditch to keep them ahead for a while, since Sirius was only a first year and not allowed on the team.

Sirius and his friends, James and Remus, they soon learned, became known as the new pranksters throughout the school by Halloween. The Slytherins in general were surprised, but remained unthreatened. So far all of their pranks had been insignificant, as though checking their competition before actually attacking. Or they were just biding their time…

As people began to return from their Christmas break at home, everyone noticed a lack of pranks occurring. Confused, rumors spread like wildfire around the school. Were they giving up? Did they get into trouble? Or were they planning something big? And if so, who was going to strike? Everyone became anxious as they walked between classes, worried that water was going to splash them or pixies would be released in the halls.

"'Dromeda!" yelled Sirius as he ran down the hall towards her along with his friends. She rolled her eyes and waved, wondering what could have him so energetic on a Saturday morning.

"When do Bellatrix and her friends eat lunch, typically?" Sirius asked once he caught up to her.

"Around noon, I think…" Andromeda answered, pausing afterwards. "Why would you want to know?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You should know," Sirius answered with a grin as James high-fived him and Remus sighed. "We want you to help us. Can you give us the location and password to the Slytherin dormitory? Please?"

"I can't do that!" Andromeda said quickly.

"No one would know it was you. Even if they assumed, there's no proof that you were the one that said it," Sirius pleaded.

"No, maybe I don't want you in there either," Andromeda said indignantly.

"Don't you want to get Bellatrix back for cutting holes in all of your socks?" Sirius asked

Andromeda paused and wiggled her half-bare toes inside of her shoes, reviewing her options. "I guess it wouldn't do any real harm this once…" she said slowly.

"Alright, I knew I could count on you!" Sirius shouted in celebration. "You want to be in on this too, then?" he offered as he looked back at James and Remus for conformation. Not that it really would have mattered anyway.

"I guess, seeing as you guys couldn't get in the girls' dormitory," Andromeda answered, and Sirius complemented her way of thinking.

A few hours later the four of them were standing outside of the Slytherin's common room, Andromeda about to give the password.

"Werewolf," Andromeda stated.

"Figures," whispered Sirius while Remus shifted uncomfortably as they followed Andromeda into the common room.

"So, what are you guys actually planning on doing?" Andromeda asked curiously as she looked around and made sure that they were the only ones still in the area. Thankfully, they were.

"Oh, just little things that will annoy you all the most," Sirius shrugged. "But a large enough number of little things that will cause them to go insane when they see it."

Staring as the three boys began their work, she saw what they started. She watched them put whoopee cushions in all the couches. James added fireworks to the wood in the fireplace, stating that he wished he'd be there to see it when they go off. Sirius took out some bows and stuck them on the skulls around the room, and Andromeda wondered where he got them. Remus just waved his wand and mustaches appeared on the two snake-banners flanking the door.

"What's next?" Andromeda asked as she finished throwing confetti.

"The dormitories, of course!" Sirius exclaimed as James and Remus both ran downstairs through the door marked "boys". "You can mess up Bellatrix's, you know what makes her the most angry." Then he dashed off after them.

"Hmmm… That won't be that hard," Andromeda said happily, rather pleased with her assigned duty.

Walking down the stairs, Andromeda thought of all the things she'd do to Bellatrix. 'First things first, I'm going to cut holes in _her_socks. I'll figure out what to do from there…' Seeing that half of her work was already completed for her when she got there, she decided to do something better than that. Taking her wand, she used what little she knew about transfiguration and changed the bed hangings to pink, and gave all of the pillows a heart-shape. Deciding to add insult to injury, she wrote a fake love note from Rudolphus, since she knew that he liked her, even though Bellatrix remained oblivious to it, but received grief from Andromeda constantly.

Looking around at the room and comparing it to Bellatrix's area, she decided that the whole room should be decorated. After all, everything should match, right? So she changed each area to a different shade of red or pink, gave them all stuffed animals to stare at them, and put dolls in the center of the room. Flowers were added all over the room in various places. All in all, she thought she did a marvelous job at fixing up the place to their dislikes.

Coming back up the stairs, she saw that the guys were already done.

"What'd you do?" Andromeda asked happily, feeling very pleased with herself.

"Well, we went through their stuff to know whose place was whose. Then we gave Malfoy lots of ribbons for his hair that we all know he's so fond of. Continuing on the theme of hair, we gave Snape some shampoo and conditioner. And we decided to write a fake love note from Bellatrix to Lestrange," Sirius added.

"No way! I gave Bellatrix a love letter from Lestrange!" Andromeda exclaimed. Everyone exchanged high fives.

"We also put glitter on all the curtains," James added with a smirk.

"Sorry to cut the celebration early, but we all should probably leave so that we're not caught by any Slytherins finishing lunch early," Remus politely suggested. They all nodded and hurried to the Great Hall.

"I'll go ahead of you guys so that we don't arrive together and appear suspicious," Andromeda suggested. The three agreed, and ten minutes later she walked to the Slytherin table.

"Where were you?" asked Bellatrix as she sat down.

"I was just at the library," answered Andromeda with a shrug. Bellatrix rolled her eyes, but didn't question it.

'Oh, I can't wait until they go back,' Andromeda thought smugly to herself.

~*~*~

"…so I shoved him into the nearest broom closet and locked the door!" hooted Bellatrix while the rest of her friends howled at her story. They had all finished lunch and were heading back to the Slytherin common room to get their things together for the afternoon lessons. Andromeda was following a few steps behind, she didn't think Bellatix's story about her run in with Amos Diggory was all that funny. However, Bellatrix's face when she saw the common room and her dormitory would be.

They turned the corner and stopped in front of the wall. "Werewolf" declared Bellatrix and led the unsuspecting Slytherins into the common room. The laughter petered out as a bit of pink caught their eye - what was pink doing in their common room? Then they saw that all the lovely skulls had been defaced with large pink bows and the couches and chairs were dusted with confetti.

"They've put mustaches on Max and Pierre too." said Lestrange, who had turned around and looked at the two snake banners.

Bellatrix laughed as she surveyed the room, "I know who did this, I don't know how they got in here, but they wasted their time, this is so lame! Some bows on the skull, a few handfuls of confetti and a new look for Max and Pierre." Andromeda shot a smug grin at her sisters back. 'You don't even know,' she thought. "Do you think Sirius did this?" she asked.

"Who else? I just want to know how he got the password," Bellatrix said turning on Andromeda, all the other Slytherins following, including the ones who had started trickling in from lunch to puck up books for afternoon classes and had also noticed the lovely new look of their common room.

Andromeda widened her eyes and held up her hands. "No way, I haven't been back here all day, and I live here just as much as you do. Why would I want to help mess it up?" That seemed to satisfy Bellatrix for the moment, and she walked over to the couch.

"Those first years have a lot to learn," she said, dusting off confetti and flopping down onto the couch. Suddenly a lard farting noise ripped through the air. A moment of stunned silence followed this, everyone in the room frozen, then Lucius Malfoy half-whispered, half-giggled "Bellatrix did you just…"

"SHUT UP!" she screamed before he could finish his sentence, and she jumped up and flipped over the cushion she'd sat on, revealing the deflated whoopee cushion. "A muggle toy, how first-year-ish," she scoffed. "I bet that twit thought he was being clever."

"Well it did get you pretty good, Bella," chuckled Andromeda. Bellatrix shot her a nasty glare and stalked to the dormitory stairs.

"I'm going to do some homework now, you guys clean up this stuff," she declared and descended down the stairs. 'And now the real fun begins' thought Andromeda as she whisked away the confetti with her wand. She was calculating the time it would take Bellatrix to reach her dorm room - not long now, three…two…one…

"OH MY GOD!" Everyone in the room jumped, and then five girls who had followed Bellatrix down the stairs came running back as though they were being chased by the devil himself.

The devil materialized in the form of Belltrix, her eyes wild. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU SIRIUS BLAAAAACK!"

Halfway across the castle, a laughing Sirius Black suddenly felt as though his life was in danger. War had come to Hogwarts.

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Thanks for your patience, this chapter took a long time to post. Please review, it's fun to hear what you guys have to think about this! Thanks! Until next time!


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